Jefferies’ ‘Greed & Fear’ report, released on November 13 highlighted key Indian stocks in Christopher Wood’s, Jefferies’ Global Head of Equity Strategy, long-only model portfolios.These stock range across a wide range of sectors from banking to fintech, real estate and infrastructure. Most importantly, all of these are focussed on the domestic growth aspect.
Top Indian stocks from Cheris Wood’s portfolio
In the Asia ex-Japan long-only portfolio, the report listed Eternal(earlier known as Zomato), SBI Life Insurance, Lodha Developers, DLF, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, PolicyBazaar-parent PB Fintech, GMR Airports Infrastructure, and MakeMyTrip. There were no additional comments attached to them and were presented along wit other key global stocks that are part of the Asia ex-Japan long-only portfolio.
The International long-only portfolio, which excludes US-listed stocks, retained five Indian companies: Eternal (earlier known as Zomato), Lodha Developers, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and MakeMyTrip. The Global long-only portfolio mirrored these same India names. In both portfolios, the only reported change last week involved non-India stocks, with Saint-Gobain removed and Nintendo added. No changes were made to any Indian stocks.
Across all three portfolios, Jefferies provided only its standard methodology note. The report said the model portfolios were constructed through “fundamental analysis of coverage stocks and the strategist’s view of respective sectors,” aimed at long-term absolute returns. The report did not connect this methodology to any specific India stock or sector.
Jefferies on Indian economy
The macro notes in the document offered a separate context on India’s economy. The report stated that the rupee had weakened 3.4% year-to-date and the current account deficit for FY26 may narrow to 0.5% of GDP, and foreign exchange reserves stood at $690 billion.
It also said gross FDI inflows had grown 13% year-on-year to $81 billion in FY25 and had risen 18% year-on-year between April and August of the current fiscal. Net FDI flows had increased to $10 billion in the first five months of FY26.
Jefferies on Sectoral performance
The Sector data by Jefferies highlighted development in the real estate sector. It showcased the 17% rise in pre-sales for seven listed real estate developers in FY25, with a projected 22% increase in FY26. Combined net debt for these developers had fallen to Rs 7,600 crore in FY25 from Rs 52,000 crore in FY19, and the report estimated that it would decline further to Rs 2,800 crore by the end of the fiscal year.
Credit growth had also strengthened to 11.5% in mid-October from 9% in May, boosting sentiment across sectors. The report said the IT services sector had slowed, with revenue growing 1.6% year-on-year in the September quarter, and noted the BSE IT Index was trading at 23 times forward earnings.
These macro and sector sections stood apart from the portfolio lists and were not presented as reasons for including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Lodha Developers, Zomato, or any of the other Indian names.
The only India-related portfolio adjustment mentioned in the report was the removal of JSW Energy from the Asia ex-Japan portfolio and its replacement with Samsung Life Insurance. The report did not cite a reason for this change.
Jefferies also noted that India’s weak market showing this year has come against the backdrop of heavy foreign selling. The report said foreign investors had pulled out US$16.2 billion year-to-date, and added that India had been a “relative-return disaster” in 2025, underperforming the MSCI Emerging Markets Index by 27 percentage points. It described this as a contrast to an “absolute-return disaster,” pointing to the resilience of domestic inflows that continued to offset new equity supply.
