Bernstein has cut its December 2026 target for the Nifty 50 to 25,000 from 26,000, saying Indian equities may have become cheaper after the recent correction but remain expensive relative to global peers.
The revised target implies about 8% upside. Bernstein expects the market to recover from recent losses, but says the gains would reflect mean reversion rather than the start of a new earnings-led upcycle.
The Nifty’s 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio has fallen to 16.6 times, its lowest in six years. It is also the first time since June 2022 that the index has traded below 17 times forward earnings.
Those levels were last seen during the Covid-era market crash and the 2022 sell-off. But Bernstein warned against reading the fall as a sign that Indian stocks have become cheap.
India remains the third-most expensive equity market globally, according to the brokerage. It continues to trade at a premium to several Asian markets that offer stronger medium-term growth.