Sensex may drop to 24,000; US Fed unlikely to hike rates this year: Marc Faber

In a chat with ET Now, Marc Faber, Editor & Publisher of ‘The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report’, shares his views on the markets and the Fed move. Excerpts:

ET Now: You had said that equities will fall and we saw some correction. Do you see more pain?

Marc Faber: My sense is that we had a very strong bull market last year and that the market is now essentially fully priced. Now, this does not mean that there are not some stocks that can still go up. I believe that we are moving into an environment where indices do not perform particularly well because of their elevated levels, but it is a stock-pickers market where some stocks can still offer some traction.

ET Now: Sensex dropping to 24,000 levels - you had spoken about this earlier. Do you still hold that view?

Marc Faber: Yes, it will also depend on global markets. But in general, we had a big move to essentially 30,000 and now we can correct about 30% from the highs. Some stocks have already corrected quite a lot. So, I would not be surprised to see the Sensex dropping to 24,000 levels.

ET Now: The biggest turning point for global markets would be the Fed move. What is your take on when that could happen?

Marc Faber: The US economy has been decelerating over the last six months. Given this weakness and the backup in yields, I doubt if the Fed will increase rates this year. Rates will essentially stay where they are for the whole year. Furthermore, I would not be surprised if, at some point, they initiate another asset purchase programme or QE4.