India's stock markets corrected recently but foreign money is likely to chase China rather than India in the short-to-medium term, said Chris Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, on Thursday. Wood told the Business Standard Manthan Summit in New Delhi he is bullish about Indian equities from a long-term perspective, but for the short term he is cautious given the quantum of foreign investor (FII) outflows and valuation woes.
Global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, Christopher Wood, has cut his exposure to Indian equities by one percentage point in the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan relative-return portfolio, and Australia and Malaysia by half a percentage point each in favour of China, which has seen a hike in exposure by two percentage points. The rally in China has been fast-forwarded by the approach of a seven-day holiday with the CSI 300 Index up 8.5 per cent on Monday, and 25.1 per cent in five trading days, he said.
Gold prices have been on an uptrend in the last few months, rising nearly 28 per cent to $2387 per ounce now. This rise in gold price, according to Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, is attributed to the demand from China amid lack of investor euphoria as regards the yellow metal. "Recent developments show a distinct lack of investor euphoria as regards gold, the question remains what is driving the current rally.
Despite the rally in equities over the last few years, India, according to Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, is still in early stages of an equity cult. Any changes to the capital gains tax for equities - both long-term and short-term - in Budget 2024 scheduled to be announced on July 23, he believes, can trigger a bigger correction that what the markets witnessed post the Lok Sabha election outcome on June 4 that saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lose majority, though it was able to form the government with the help of coalition partners.
Global fund managers remain bullish on the Japanese stock markets, which is now their most preferred destination in the Asian region. Both Morgan Stanley and Jefferies in their recent reports, have cited their preference for the Land Of The Rising Sun, which is fast becoming the land of the rising equities, too.
Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies has rejigged his equity portfolios. In his Asia ex-Japan long-only portfolio, he has added Axis Bank (5 per cent weightage) and increased holding in Larsen & Toubro (L&T) by one percentage point. This, Wood said, will be paid for by removing the investment in ICICI Lombard General Insurance and reducing the investments in HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries (RIL) by one percentage point each.
Global financial markets are not yet fully factoring in any escalation in the Israel-Palestine geopolitical conflict, said Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies in his latest weekly note to investors, GREED & fear. The pertinent point about ongoing events in West Asia from a financial market perspective, according to him, is that, despite much talk about a pending ground invasion of Gaza, no such invasion has yet happened. "This is beginning to make GREED & fear wonder if it is ever going to happen.
The sharp rally in the midcap stocks has made valuations expensive, and there is room for a correction, wrote Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies in his latest note to investors, GREED & fear. The midcap index, Wood said, now trades at 24.1x 12-month forward earnings compared with 18.7x for the Nifty. Rising crude oil prices, he believes, are another worry for India, which imports nearly 80 per cent of its annual crude oil requirement.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title. The 10th edition of the 20-overs global showpiece event will run from February 7 to March 8.
The Natural History Museum, London, has officially unveiled the 24-image shortlist for the 2026 Nuveen People's Choice Award. This prestigious contest, a key part of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and supported by lead sponsor Nuveen, invites the public to decide which image will be crowned the winner.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in familiar home conditions next month.
However, despite Covid, Indian markets registered their best financial year performance in a decade, with the Sensex and Nifty50 rallying 68 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively, in FY21.
Here's a quick look at all the winners of the 83rd edition of the Golden Globes.
England 'quietly confident' heading into Ashes series, says Wood
'I'm worried. We're going to wander in and have a little game with the 'A' team. (It will be) 'Alright mate, how are you? Good on ya' and we're going to go and perform?'
Mohamed Salah had already clinched the Premier League Player of the Season award, the Golden Boot for most goals scored and the Playmaker award for most assists, making him the first player to win all three awards in the same season.
Arsenal's Calafiori secures 1-0 win at Manchester United; Crystal Palace hold Chelsea to 0-0 draw.
Scott Boland will step up and uncapped Brendan Doggett is tipped for a high-stakes debut to try to shore up the loss of a combined 604 Test wickets of experience.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Forest were good value for the win, though Ipswich came close to opening the scoring midway through the first half.
Forest's tally is the same number as Leicester City had accumulated by the same point of the 2015/16 campaign when they went on to become shock Premier League champions.
England fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to a thigh injury.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side took the lead after five minutes when a corner fell to Elliot Anderson on the edge of the area and his powerful deflected drive found the net.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
Scottie Scheffler sealed his first British Open triumph by four shots as he turned the final day of the tournament into a procession at Royal Portrush on Sunday.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
New Zealand advance to their third football World Cup following the 1982 and 2010 finals.
The second Test begins on Thursday, with a third and final Test scheduled at Birmingham starting on July 26.
Teenager Eddie Jack's call-up comes at a time when England's pace stocks are depleted with less than 10 days to go for the opening Test.
Wood injured his thigh during the first Test and has been ruled out for the rest of the series.
'It's also a great opportunity for myself and it's good to pass on a little bit of knowledge to the younger guys who haven't played as much Test cricket. And I am also learning from them.'
Manchester City and Chelsea both secured their Champions League places with victories on the final day of the English Premier League season and Newcastle United joined them despite stumbling to a last-day defeat.
Newcastle United registered a 2-0 home win over Chelsea on Sunday that moves the Magpies a step closer to Champions League football next season.
England head coach Brendon McCullum believes India have arrived well-prepared and full of belief for the upcoming five-match Test series
K L Rahul would look to make the most of his first red-ball outing in months ahead of the upcoming Test series against England.
England have named two uncapped players in Essex duo Sam Cook and Jordan Cox in the squad for the one-off Test match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge later this month.
England pacer Brydon Carse is expecting the transitioning Indian team to put up a strong fight in the five-match Test series despite the recent retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, thanks to their "huge depth".
After rain-marred ICC T20 World Cup preparation, England pacer Mark Wood insisted that the Three Lions will make 'no excuses' and said few players are gaming to get more runouts at the Oval to boost their confidence.
PSL match between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi in Rawalpindi rescheduled
Some reporters later returned to the conference room, although local press strongly condemned the player's actions, adding to criticism of the team's poor form this season, which has left them sitting 10th in the Liga MX table.
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