Manish Sonthalia believes that the Nifty 50 index could potentially reach levels between 22,000 and 22,500. This projection is based on a projected earnings growth of 10-12% for FY26 and 10-15% for FY27.

Sonthalia emphasizes the need to monitor signs of earnings revival before determining if the index has reached its bottom.

The average earnings per share (EPS) for Nifty is estimated to be Rs 1245, which suggests that the current price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, averaging 20 over the past 3-5 years, supports this outlook. The long-term average P/E for the Nifty 50 is 18x, indicating that a target of 22,000 is achievable, depending on government spending patterns in the second half of FY25.