Precious metals are poised to continue their impressive rally into the next year, according to a fresh analysis. Financial advisory firm PL Capital has published a bullish outlook for 2026, forecasting that gold and silver will retain their lustre as top-performing assets.
Gold's Glittering Path: Record Demand Fuels Optimism
Gold, which emerged as one of the standout asset classes in 2025, is expected to maintain a "moderately to strongly positive" trajectory in 2026. The report highlights that gold prices have already surged by more than 60 per cent in the current year. This strength is underpinned by robust global demand, which hit an all-time high of 1,313 tonnes in the July-September quarter of 2025.
Several key factors are supporting this sustained uptrend. Persistent buying by central banks, consistent inflows into Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), and ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties are creating a solid foundation for gold's value. Notably, India has witnessed its highest-ever gold ETF inflows this year, signalling strong domestic investor confidence in the yellow metal.
Silver's Meteoric Rise and Industrial Supercycle
Silver has not just followed gold's path but has spectacularly outperformed it in 2025. The white metal's price skyrocketed by over 100 per cent, breaching the significant milestone of USD 60 per ounce. PL Capital attributes this explosive growth to a powerful industrial demand supercycle.
Critical sectors like solar photovoltaics, electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors, and power electronics are driving unprecedented consumption of silver. Compounding this bullish scenario is a structural deficit in supply, which the firm believes will reinforce a strong price outlook for silver throughout 2026.
Indian Economic Backdrop and Equity Resilience
The report also paints an encouraging picture of the Indian economy as it heads into the new year. The country is entering December with strong domestic momentum, record-low inflation, and improving corporate earnings visibility. Supportive monetary policy actions, including the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 25 basis points repo rate cut to 5.25 per cent, alongside lower inflation projections and upgraded GDP estimates, point towards a conducive rate environment in 2026.
Indian equity markets have demonstrated notable resilience amidst global volatility. On a cumulative basis, key indices Sensex and Nifty have gained approximately 8-9 per cent in 2026. PL Capital expects the earnings recovery to broaden over the next 6-24 months, encompassing consumption, financials, capital expenditure-linked sectors, and select industrials.
The firm maintains a preference for large-cap stocks in the near term while selectively adding high-quality mid-cap stocks as their earnings prospects become clearer. For 2026, PL Capital identifies several preferred investment themes:
- Banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)
- Consumer staples and discretionary goods
- Defence and ports sectors
In summary, PL Capital's comprehensive market outlook suggests a year of opportunity, with precious metals leading the charge and the Indian economy providing a stable platform for growth across multiple asset classes.
