Indian companies are increasingly turning to share buybacks as a preferred payout strategy, driven by recent tax framework changes that make them more tax-efficient for non-promoter shareholders and a fall in stock prices.
Preferential equity listings in India reached an unprecedented 1,307 in FY26, marking a 33% increase from the previous year and reflecting a strategic choice for companies during market volatility.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has implemented a fast-track mechanism for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), allowing scheme launches after 30 days of filing, aiming to reduce timelines and accelerate capital deployment.
Indian equities are experiencing their sharpest rebound in years, with the BSE 500 index rallying 12.1 per cent so far this month, echoing Covid-era recoveries despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and earnings risks.
Yield-generating instruments like Infrastructure Investment Trusts (Invits), Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits), and Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) are witnessing a surge in investor interest, contrasting with a notable slowdown in the equity primary market, which saw only one IPO in April.
Most active traders prefer mobile applications that provide real-time alerts, including price targets -- functions that dealers once delivered through client calls.
JPMorgan has downgraded Indian equities to 'neutral' from 'overweight', citing elevated valuations, rising earnings risks, and limited exposure to next-generation technology like AI. The brokerage believes other emerging markets offer more attractive risk/reward propositions despite India's strong structural growth story.
Global brokerage Bernstein has issued a cautionary note, stating that India risks 'under-delivering on its potential' unless it addresses key policy bottlenecks and structural risks, including employment challenges from AI, limited manufacturing gains, and rising welfare spending.
'Mobius made EMs investable and India his most enduring belief.'
India's new manufacturing project announcements more than halved in the fourth quarter of FY26, falling 60 per cent sequentially and 78 per cent year-on-year to approximately 1.7 trillion, driven by global uncertainties, geopolitical conflicts in West Asia, and existing unutilised manufacturing capacity.
India has emerged as the most impacted market within emerging economies, experiencing $3.7 billion in outflows over the past three weeks, matching the total outflows from the entire emerging market basket, as global equity funds turn negative for the first time since January 2026 due to escalating geopolitical tensions.
At the upper end of that range, the bourse would rank among the seven most valuable listed firms in the country.
'The next phase of India's IPO cycle will be defined by quality, pricing discipline and investor selectivity.'
With domestic markets turning choppy, investors are increasingly scouting for opportunities overseas to diversify portfolios and hedge against a weakening rupee.
Sensex and Nifty post steepest weekly loss in over a year, falling nearly 3 per cent.
India has lost its $5 trillion market capitalisation (mcap) tag following Monday's sharp selloff in equities and a simultaneous slide in the rupee.
Share of IPOs opening above issue price drops to 64.6%, median gains shrink sharply amid market volatility.
'The problem is not just slower growth, but also the quality of growth.'
The selloff in domestic information technology stocks intensified on Friday, with the Nifty IT index sliding as much as 5.2 per cent during the session before paring losses to close 1.44 per cent lower.
Companies in the lower mcap deciles have recorded the fastest growth in median mcap.
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