The stock market is a better area of investment than gold, fixed deposits and real estate, said Mr S. Karthikeyan, Director, Coimbatore Capital Ltd here on Saturday.

He was speaking at a discussion organised jointly by Coimbatore Capital Ltd and Coimbatore School of Business, with Business Line as Media partner.

Speaking on the impact of the Union Budget 2011 on the various sectors of industry and business, Mr Karthikeyan said that slow and steady investment in the stock market will yield more profits than other areas.

“Gold and real estate seem to be areas of good investment only in the past four or five years but the stock market can give returns continuously if planned and invested in properly,” he said.

Mr Karthikeyan described the Budget as “neutral” to certain sectors, and “little positive” and “little negative” to others. Infrastructure and agro-based industries have received the positive treatment. These sectors will grow and be profitable for investment. Other positively-affected sectors include banking, the consumer segment, capital goods and the power sector. IT and construction fall under negatively impacted industries, he said..

In the auto sector, Maruti and Mahindra & Mahindra stand to gain. “Maruti is a major beneficiary,” said Mr Karthikeyan.

When it came to taking a neutral stance, segments like metal and telecom have not been affected by the budget. Mr K. Selvam, Chartered Accountant said that many concessions have been given to agro-based industries in the budget.

Bringing down the age for senior citizens to 60 is a welcome move.

Mr D. Balasundaram, Chairman of Coimbatore Capital Ltd also spoke at the event.

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