Fuel prices likely to increase in a phased manner, says Invesco's Taher Badshah

Taher Badshah, CIO at Invesco Mutual Fund, which manages assets worth nearly $15 billion, said the government may gradually increase petrol and diesel prices if elevated crude oil prices continue for a longer period. However, any increase is likely to be phased because the government would avoid overdoing it.

Invesco is not directly betting on oil and gas companies despite expectations of stronger domestic energy security policies. Instead, it prefers sectors linked to the energy transition. “The overall power trade seems to be a relatively better way… automobiles and a few other things are a better way to play than oil and gas,” he said.

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Badshah also addressed concerns around Indian IT stocks after OpenAI announced a new deployment-focused business model, which weighed on technology shares. He said the market narrative around artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving and that enterprise adoption costs remain high.

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“It is not something which is a one-way street,” he said, referring to AI-led disruption fears. According to him, AI infrastructure spending and implementation challenges could eventually create opportunities for Indian IT services companies over the next 24 months.

The CIO added that valuations in the IT sector have corrected meaningfully over the last year, making the space more attractive from a value-investing perspective. “The earnings have not disappointed, as far as tech is concerned,” he said, noting that most major IT firms have maintained stable performance despite uncertainty around AI adoption.

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Badshah also described the current positioning in technology stocks as a contrarian opportunity. “Contrarian investing needs a lot more courage,” he said, while adding that Invesco has gradually increased exposure to technology through its value strategy over recent months.

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