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Managed workspace platform Smartworks has picked up an entire tower with 14 floors of office space spread over 6 lakh sq ft in Pune’s Balewadi through a long-term lease to set up a coworking center and expand its presence in the city. The company has leased the space for a total of 15 years in an upcoming commercial tower 43 EQ close to Balewadi High Street, taking its portfolio of managed workspaces in Pune to over 3 million sq ft.“Our growth in Pune has been outstanding and this expansion aligns with our aim to empower businesses by offering them tailored office solutions to boost productivity and foster growth in a professional, fully equipped and managed setting,” said Neetish Sarda, founder of Smartworks.The company is aiming to start operations at this new co-working hub in October and once live, the hub is expected to accommodate over 8,000 desks.With a presence in 13 cities and a portfolio comprising more than 39 centres spanning over 8 million sq ft, Smartworks caters to sector-agnostic large organizations, including large enterprises, as well as unicorns and soonicorns, serving over 550 clients.The upcoming office space is being tailormade and aimed at offering a conducive environment for enhanced productivity and opportunities for collaboration and networking, the company said. Owing to the increased need for adaptable workspace solutions from large corporations and dynamic startups globally, the Indian market has emerged as one of the fastest-growing hubs for flexible office spaces, particularly in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.Several factors, including the expansion of startup ventures, evolving work environments, and the requirement for economical and versatile solutions, have been contributing to the escalating demand for flexible office spaces.Additionally, the shift towards remote and hybrid working models has accelerated the adoption of flexible workspaces as businesses seek to optimize costs while providing employees with safe, efficient, and collaborative environments.This trend is expected to continue as more companies recognize the benefits of flexible office solutions in an ever-changing business landscape.

Nifty ended Saturday’s small and special trading session 36 points higher to close above 22,500 for the first time in several days. However, a small bodied candle on the daily chart suggests very little about the future direction of the price, analysts say.On the weekly chart, a Piercing Line-type pattern was seen, which hinted at more upside for the market ahead.Larger range bound pattern of around 22800-21750 has come into play this week. Having moved up from near the lower range of 21750 levels in this week, Nifty is expected to move towards the upper range of 22800 levels in the next 1-2 weeks. Immediate support is placed at 22200 levels, said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.What should traders do? Here’s what analysts said:Rupak De, LKP SecuritiesHeavy writing was visible in both call and put at 22,500 strike, indicating a sense of inflection. Therefore, traders need to be watchful in the initial hour to confirm any directional move. Support is visible at 22,400. On the higher end, a sustained move can take the index towards 22,600 and higher in the short term.Pravesh Gour, Swastika InvestmartThis positive momentum could push the index towards 22,525 and even 22,750 levels. On the downside, 22,300 will act as the immediate support level, followed by a 100-DMA of 22,050. It's important to note that the market may experience volatility in both directions.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Reckoning that past experiences suggest that election results impact on markets does not last beyond six months, Mahesh Patil, CIO, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, says the market has a tendency to continue with its inherent trajectory based on fundamentals. “Hence, we would not try to time election outcomes and rather focus on stock picking while reducing risk in the portfolio to navigate the volatility due to election outcomes,” he says. Edited excerpts from a chat:What is your overall reading of the numbers and management commentary that we have come across in the March quarter earnings? What is catching your attention?The March quarter has seen a slowdown in the topline growth across sectors as the nominal growth has moderated on the high base of last year and cooling off of inflation. In sectors like consumer staples even the volume growth has been weak, in low single digit, due to slow recovery in rural consumption. On the positive side some consumer companies have raised hopes of a recovery in consumption in the second half of this year. Sectors like automobiles, capital goods and pharma sectors have witnessed gross margin improvement due to lower input costs, thus leading to stronger bottom-line growth. Sectors linked to the global economy and export-oriented companies have seen slowdown, especially IT and chemicals. The resurgence of manufacturing in China and their dumping in global markets has meant that the recovery will be pushed ahead in sectors like chemicals. Real estate, hotels and premium categories continued their strong growth.Companies generally continue to deleverage, and capex growth is lagging cash flow generation. Overall, the results on an aggregate basis are in line and we do not see a major downgrade to earnings in FY25. How has your view changed on IT stocks after the earnings season? Does it make sense to be a contra buyer in some of the stocks as valuations have moderated?Quarterly results for the IT companies implied extended weakness in discretionary tech spends and macro uncertainty. This has resulted in a downward reset of expectations for FY25 and additional pressure on earnings led by weaker margins. Initial expectations of recovery in FY25 have been pushed back to FY26. This has led to correction in the IT stocks and index to the extent of 13-15% in the last 3 months.Midcaps have corrected even more. Our stand on the sector has been neutral since last 1 year and was drifting figuring out indicators of any recovery in tech spends, which still remain elusive. After the recent correction, some names in the sector definitely look attractive offering almost 4% dividend yield and almost 5% FCF yield. While It is difficult to gauge the reversal in tech spends, current levels offer decent margin of safety and can be a good time for contra investing.Following a correction in February and March months, smallcaps have bounced back with a bang. As this leg of rally is largely led by retail liquidity, how careful are you while picking stocks now in the broader market? How much valuation risk do you see in the broader market in FY25?There is no doubt that the valuations in the midcap and small cap space are significantly higher than the long-term averages because of rerating driven by large liquidity chasing these stocks. The relative valuations of midcaps and small caps versus large caps are two standard deviations above long-term averages. With the growth outlook for midcaps and small caps converging with the large caps we see some mean reversion of the diversion in performance this year. So while the midcap index has created a new high after the correction earlier this year, we have seen the breadth of the market has deteriorated as there are many stocks quoting well below their recent highs. As the markets turn more volatile, we see risk to the broader market this year. This could be a year where bottom up stock picking based on earnings visibility and valuation comfort will be rewarded. We are also laying a larger emphasis on the quality of companies and are happy to ignore risky names. With investors betting on political continuity in this election season, PSUs remain a hot favourite. Do you see more re-rating if BJP comes to power?PSU companies had a dream run in FY24 which was driven by sharp rerating of multiples and better earnings growth as the core sectors have done well on the back of strong economic growth. Since the PSU stocks came from a long period of underperformance prior to 2022, there was some catch up which has happened and hence the gains look spectacular. The valuations of most PSUs are now above average and even at the higher end in sectors like defence, railways, and capital goods. One can argue for some structural rerating of PSUs since the current government has been supportive to the PSUs and is urging them to improve productivity and drive growth with right capital allocation. While we do not expect further rerating from here, if the BJP again comes to power with a larger majority in these elections, the PSUs can continue to do well driven primarily by earnings growth and even some rerating in a few sectors like power and oil n gas which are still reasonable compared to broader market.Themes like power, defence and capex have been hot favourites of both retail and institutional investors with many stocks giving multibagger returns. Do you think more steam is left in this trade?The underlying drivers for themes like power, defence and capex are robust. The power sector is seeing a renewed growth as not only the renewable space but even the traditional thermal power generation where the targets have been revised upwards three times last year as the government sees peak power shortages going forward. Défense theme is clearly overstretched on valuations notwithstanding the credible demand drivers. Capital goods sector is also stretched on valuations, but the only comfort is that we are at the beginning of capex cycle recovery and if one takes a longer term view it can still do well if earnings surprise on the positive side. Overall, these over-hyped sectors are at a risk of larger drawdown in the short term in case of any market correction. Hence, one needs to take at least a three-year view while investing in these sectors at current levels.Financial giants like Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance have suffered a lot. Gradually, the consensus buy calls are also fading with investors choosing the likes of Axis Bank, ICICI Bank or PSU banks. Do you think patience in some of these OGs will pay off well if held for the next 2-3 years?Some of the fancied and high valued stocks in the BFSI space have seen a derating due to time correction as they struggled with growth or management challenges. The premium for charismatic leadership in the past has given away and the market is evaluating these companies on a relative basis based on their ability to drive growth and underwriting capabilities. Each company needs to be evaluated based on its own merits based on leadership, technology, product mix and valuations. Having said that, the premium for quality will also come back if we take a slightly long term view in these names.A lot of investors are sitting on the sidelines and waiting for a dip, maybe after the elections. How would you like to deal with the outcome of the election results next month?Past experiences suggest that the election results impact on markets does not last beyond six months and the market continues with its inherent trajectory based on fundamentals. Hence, we would not try to time election outcomes and rather focus on stock picking while reducing risk in the portfolio to navigate the volatility due to election outcomes. Structurally we are positive on the economy and markets and would prefer more bias towards large cap companies where the risk reward is favourable based on valuations. This is a period to cut down on the tail positions in the portfolio and consolidate in better quality stocks.

A comprehensive review of the India-UK 'Roadmap 2030' was undertaken during Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra's two-day visit to London, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday. The two sides also agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas of trade, defence and security, science and technology and people-to-people exchanges. The foreign secretary visited the UK from May 16 to 17 to attend the 16th round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between the two sides. In 2021, India and the UK adopted a 10-year roadmap to expand ties in the key areas of trade and economy, defence and security, climate change and people-to-people connections among others. At the FOC, the foreign secretary held talks with Sir Philip Barton, the permanent under-secretary at the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Kwatra also held meetings with Minister of State (Foreign Office) Lord Tariq Ahmad, MoS for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge, NSA Sir Tim Barrow, Home Office Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft, Chief Trade Negotiator Crawford Falconer and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the UK prime minister, John Bew. The MEA said both sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and regional and global issues of mutual interest. "The foreign secretary and permanent under-secretary undertook a detailed review of the Roadmap 2030," it said. "Welcoming good progress across all pillars, they underscored their interest to raise the level of ambition and agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation including in trade and economic, defence and security, science and technology, people-to-people ties and mobility, energy, and climate change, as well as health," the MEA said in a statement. It said India and the UK share a comprehensive strategic partnership which has been strengthened across all domains through regular high-level political exchanges and meetings of bilateral institutional mechanisms. The India-UK relationship was elevated to the comprehensive strategic partnership in May 2021. The two sides are currently negotiating a free trade agreement. Both sides are also keen to expand cooperation in the maritime sphere. In June 2021, the UK posted a liaison officer at the Indian Navy's Information Fusion Centre (IFC) that has emerged as a key hub in tracking movements of ships and other developments in the Indian Ocean region. The UK joined a select group of countries such as the US, Australia, Japan and France to depute officials at the Gurugram-based facility. The Indian Navy established the IFC-IOR in 2018 to effectively keep track of the shipping traffic as well as other critical developments in the region under a collaborative framework with like-minded countries.