BofA sees India's Nifty 50 at 25,000 by year-end, small and mid-cap pain to persist

BofA Securities expects India's benchmark Nifty 50 index .NSEI to gain 14% in 2025, reaching around 25,000 by year-end

While bearish on small- .NIFSMCP100 and mid-cap stocks .NIFMDCP100, BofA turns constructive on Nifty due to its cheaper valuations after recent correction

"We expect small and midcaps to deliver negative returns in 2025 as they are still expensive on most fundamental metrics," say analysts led by Amish Shah of BofA Securities

The Nifty has fallen about 15% from its record high levels in September, trading near 22,550 on the day

Small- and mid-caps confirmed bear market in February

BofA sees telecom, financials, industrials, energy, IT and autos driving 90% of Nifty's earnings growth

Favours rate-sensitive domestic cyclicals such as financials and autos, expecting RBI rate cuts to boost economic and credit growth

Key Nifty stocks expected to lead gains include HDFC Life HDFL.NS, Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS, Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, Axis Bank AXBK.NS, and Larsen & Toubro LART.NS