An analysis by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has revealed that retail traders remain at the wrong end of the stick when it comes to equity derivatives trading. About 93 per cent of them incurred an average loss of Rs 2 lakh (per trader) during the last three financial years. The new report highlights an increase in the loss-making individual investors in futures and options (F&O) to 91.1 per cent in FY24 compared to 89 per cent in FY22.
Bajaj Finserv was the biggest loser among the Sensex constituents, sliding 3.81 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech, SBI, Larsen & Toubro and Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank and Titan. On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Asian Paints and Wipro were the gainers.
Continuing buying interest across the pack helped the Bank Nifty index improve its new high on Tuesday (May 30). The index of banking stocks ended Tuesday's session at 44,436, a gain of 124 points or 0.3 per cent. On Monday (May 29), Bank Nifty hit a new high after a gap of 166 days.
Stock markets will be largely driven by global trends and macroeconomic data announcements in a holiday-shortened week which may see volatility amid monthly derivatives expiry, say analysts. Equity markets will remain closed on Monday for Gurunanak Jayanti. Trading activity of foreign investors and the movement of the rupee against the dollar will also be tracked by investors.
Foreign portfolio investors' (FPIs') shareholding in NSE-listed companies fell 51 basis points sequentially to 17.68 per cent in the quarter ended March 31, 2024, according to data compiled by PRIME Database. This is the lowest FPI shareholding since December 2012. From the recent peak of 21.21 per cent at the end of December 2020, FPI shareholding is down 353 basis points.
Market downturns or regulatory shifts can reduce liquidity, making it harder to buy or sell assets when needed.
The tax dept has served notices on about 36 foreign investors.
Overseas investors have pulled out a net Rs 1,14,855.97 crore from the Indian markets in the current year so far, amid heightened geopolitical tensions and inflation concerns. Foreign portfolio investors have sold domestic equities worth Rs 48,261.65 crore so far this month, taking the year-to-date tally this year to a massive Rs 114,855.97 crore, according to depositories data. The exodus of foreign investors was largely owing to inflationary pressures and deepening global macroeconomic conditions following the Russia-Ukraine war, experts said.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) six-step plan to curb retail participation in speculative index derivatives may lead to a substantial drop in volumes - potentially by 30-40 per cent. These measures aim to reduce excessive speculation in the futures and options (F&O) segment, where daily turnover often exceeds Rs 500 trillion and retail investors end up on the losing side of the trade more often. Sebi has decided to increase the contract size from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, raising margin requirements and mandating the upfront collection of option premiums from buyers.
Younger investors with long investment horizons may continue their SIPs.
Sebi's new FPI regulation has helped attract new capital pool, up registrations.
Among the Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever and Power Grid were the major gainers. NTPC, Axis Bank, Nestle, HCL Technologies and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
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.
Among the Sensex stocks, Reliance Industries climbed the most by 3.11 per cent. Bajaj Finance, Titan, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the other major winners. Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Asian Paints were among the biggest laggards.
Among the Sensex firms, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, ITC and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Nestle, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro and Asian Paints were among the gainers.
Among the Sensex shares, Infosys rose the most by 1.37 per cent, followed by Larsen & Toubro (0.90 per cent), and Wipro (0.83 per cent). HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC, TCS, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints and Titan were among the lead gainers.
Among Sensex gainers, Power Grid jumped the most by 4.16 per cent after its board approved an investment of Rs 656 crore in transmission projects. Private lenders HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank were also among lead gainers. NTPC, Nestle and Hindustan Unilever also ended the session with gains.
Mutual funds (MFs) turned net sellers of equities in April amid a run up in stock prices on sustained inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPI). The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty50, logged their biggest monthly advance since November last year, gaining 3.6 per cent and 4.1 per cent last month. Data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) shows that MFs sold equities worth over Rs 5,100 crore in April, the highest since February 2021.
Foreign companies that do not have a permanent establishment in India will be exempt from paying minimum alternate tax.
The political and ideological differences between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor is no longer a matter of whispers.
'Investors with foreign currency-denominated goals, such as foreign education or foreign travel, should go for US equity funds.'
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, ITC, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and JSW Steel were the major laggards. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Maruti, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
'More than investors, fund houses, and advisors have raised caution and limited flows on small-and mid-caps.'
In the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Bharti Airtel were the major laggards. Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, NTPC and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
Shares reserved for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB), including banks and mutual funds in the LIC's public offer were subscribed fully on Monday morning, taking the overall subscription of the issue to a little over 2 times. Against 3,95,31,236 reserved, 4,61,62,185 bids were received, reflecting a subscription of 1.17 times, according to data posted on stock exchanges at 12:12 pm. Non institutional investors' portion was subscribed 1.38 times.
From the Sensex pack, Maruti, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra and Bharti Airtel were the major laggards. Power Grid, Sun Pharma, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.
Benchmark equity indices continued their record-shattering spree on Tuesday, with the Sensex and Nifty hitting their fresh all-time high levels in early trade, amid persistent foreign fund inflows. Also, buying in Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC twins added to the positive market momentum. Rallying for the fifth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 381.55 points to hit its all-time peak of 65,586.60 in early trade.
Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filing continued to be robust in October, signifying the optimism in the initial public offer (IPO) market despite the recent turbulence in equities. In October, 17 companies filed their offer documents for IPOs. The rush in filings has made August-October 2023 the best three-month period for DRHP filings since July-September 2021.
Reminiscent of the past two years, the market has made positive strides ahead of the Union Budget 2023-24 (FY24). The benchmark National Stock Exchange Nifty has gained 1.8 per cent in the last month. Typically, markets tend to gain ahead of the Budget as investors build in optimism.
After declining for three consecutive quarters, the value of FPI investment in Indian equities rose 8 per cent quarter-on-quarter to $566 billion in the July-September period, according to a Morningstar report on Wednesday. A fast-changing global macroeconomic landscape, sentiments and opportunities that the Indian equity markets have to offer impacted the direction of flows by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs). Through the quarter, the value of the FPI holdings in domestic equities surged by 8 per cent to $566 billion from $523 billion recorded in the previous quarter.
Top gainers in the Sensex pack included HCL Tech, Tata Motors, M&M, Bajaj Auto, RIL, Hero MotoCorp, Yes Bank, Maruti, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance, which surged up to 6.43 per cent.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) selling spree continued as they dumped Indian equity worth over Rs 5,800 crore this month so far on rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This came after such investors withdrew Rs 24,548 crore in October and Rs 14,767 crore in September, data with the depositories showed. Before the outflow, FPIs were incessantly buying Indian equities in the last six months from March to August and brought in Rs 1.74 lakh crore during the period.
Market players attribute the rally in small and midcaps to flows from retail investors and domestic institutions.
The Sensex and Nifty ended at fresh lifetime peaks on Tuesday amid a largely firm trend in other Asian markets and continuous foreign fund inflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 177.04 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 62,681.84, its fresh record closing high. During the day, it jumped 382.6 points or 0.61 per cent to its lifetime intra-day peak of 62,887.40.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pumped in Rs 1.7 trillion into domestic stocks in 2023, one of the highest net inflows ever witnessed during a calendar year, of which 25 per cent went into the direct buying of stocks. Data provided by depository NSDL revealed that Rs 44,950 crore of the total FPI flows last year went into primary issuances. A large portion of the FPI investments through the stock exchange route went into block deals, thereby reducing the actual investments made via direct buying of stocks. Last year saw selldowns or block deals worth Rs 2 trillion.
The rupee depreciated by 22 paise to close at a fresh lifetime low of 79.48 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, tracking a strong greenback overseas and subdued domestic equities. However, receding crude oil prices in the international market restricted the rupee's loss, forex traders said. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened weak at 79.30 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 79.24 and a low of 79.49.
Movement in the equity market this week will largely be dictated by quarterly earnings of blue-chip firms HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever, along with the announcement of WPI inflation data and global trends, analysts said. Trading activity of foreign investors, global oil benchmark Brent crude and rupee-dollar trend would also guide the movement.
'Reduce your equity allocation, put that allocation into gold and fixed income.'
By taking the mutual fund route, investors can take exposure to gilts with small amounts. Over a decade or more, returns from these funds tend to be sound.
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