Dalal Street had a roller coaster ride in 2024 from shattering record after record to facing heavy correction off-late but equity markets still rewarded investors with positive returns, driven by a surge in domestic fund flows and a resilient macro landscape. The first half of the year saw robust corporate earnings, a surge in domestic flows, and a resilient macro landscape, driving the Nifty to an all-time high of 26,277.35 in September 2024, according to Motilal Oswal Wealth Management.
Foreign Portfolio Investors purchased stocks worth about Rs 56,123 crore in 2016-17
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) February 8 for the first time ever crossed the Rs 7 trillion market capitalisation, as the stock price of state-owned insurer hit a new high of Rs 1,144,45, on rallying 10 per cent on the BSE. The board of directors of the Corporation are scheduled to meet today i.e. February 8, 2024, to consider a proposal for declaration of interim dividend for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The board will also consider and approve the unaudited financial results for the quarter and nine-month period ended on December 31, 2023.
Equity benchmark Sensex climbed 154 points to end at a fresh all-time high on Monday, tracking gains in ICICI Bank, L&T and Kotak Bank amid persistent foreign fund inflows and a largely positive trend in global markets.
Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries and ITC. Broader NSE Nifty rallied 136.15 points or 1.02 per cent to its new record high of 13,529.10.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for a third day in a row on Wednesday on buying in Reliance Industries, Infosys, HDFC twins and ICICI Bank following gains in global equities amid hopes of a breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. The 30-share BSE barometer index surged 740.34 points or 1.28 per cent to settle at 58,683.99. During the day, it jumped 784.13 points or 1.35 per cent to 58,727.78. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 172.95 points or 1 per cent to settle at 17,498.25. Among the 30-share pack, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Nestle, Maruti, Reliance Industries Limited were among the lead gainers. On the other hand, ITC, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Titan were among the laggards.
Short-term lending rate unchanged at 7.75 pc.
The NSE Nifty settled the day 28.30 points, or 0.27 per cent, lower at 10,554.30.
ITC, Sun Pharma, Maruti, M&M, Tata Motors, HCL Tech, Wipro, Infosys, HUL, Bharti Airtel and Reliance were among the major losers. Kotak Bank rose the most by 1.59 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv. L&T, SBI, TCS and HDFC Bank also closed higher.
'A long-term investor with a 4 to 5 year horizon could invest in this theme via SIPs.'
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty buckled under selling pressure after a nine-session rally on Monday, as massive sell-off in IT, tech and telecom counters unnerved investors.
After two months of buying, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have turned net sellers in October by pulling out Rs 12,278 crore from Indian markets. As per depositories data, FPIs took out Rs 13,550 crore from equities but invested Rs 1,272 crore in the debt segment during October 1-29. The total net outflow stood at Rs 12,278 crore during the period under review.
'Some risks to this market rally include inflation, erratic weather conditions, rising crude prices, slowing global growth and the resultant impact on domestic exports, escalation in geopolitical tensions.'
Since March 2020, when the Nifty50 plummeted to 7,511 following the announcement of a nationwide lockdown, the stock market has been on an upward trajectory. Over the next four years, the major market index has delivered a remarkable compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 31.5 per cent. In the past year alone, the Nifty50 has gained by 27 per cent, hitting a succession of record highs.
The 50-share NSE Nifty, which reclaimed the 10,800-mark intra-day, settled at 10,786.95, showing a gain of 19.30 points, or 0.18 per cent.
After turning net buyers for the fifth straight month till June, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a net of Rs 11,743 crore ($1.7 billion) in July. This was their highest outflow since October 2018.
Mutual funds (MFs) are investing in more stocks despite the recent volatility. The industry invested in 824 companies across the listed universe as of October, according to primemfdatabase.com. The S&P BSE Sensex hit its all-time high of 62,245 that month. The index has since corrected to 57,864, around 7 per cent below the peak.
Technology stocks rallied, with the IT index up 2.45 per cent as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies spurted following favourable rupee movement.
The mutual fund industry added Rs 2.2 lakh crore to its asset base in 2022, driven by consistent monthly increase in SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) flows. The Assets Under Management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry rose by 5.7 per cent or Rs 2.2 lakh crore to a total Rs 39.88 lakh crore in 2022, data from the Association of Mutual Fund Industry (Amfi) showed on Tuesday. This was way lower than a surge of nearly 22 per cent or an increase of close to Rs 7 lakh crore in the asset base to Rs 37.72 lakh crore in 2021.
Investors must be prepared to believe that things will get better eventually, no matter how bad the current situation may look. If you don't possess this optimism, you will not possess the courage to invest and if you don't invest, you don't give yourself any chance to get wealthy, says Devangshu Datta.
The Indian financial services space seems to be in a sweet spot as foreign investors have made a net investment of Rs 14,205 crore ($2.1 billion) in the sector in November amid strong credit growth and manageable non-performing loan portfolio. The investment comes following a net withdrawal of Rs 4,686 crore from financial services stocks in October on account of profit booking. Overall, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have made a net investment of Rs 36,238 crore in the country's equity markets in November.
Huge inflow thanks to low inflation levels and RBI rate cut
Breather for FIIs: MAT assessments, fresh notices put on hold.
After a recent fall in profit, Masayoshi Son of SoftBank announced that the Japanese tech investor will look at dramatic cost-cutting. Before he does that, investments in India for calendar year 2022 (CY22) will fall radically, observed sources in the know. Last year, the company had invested around $3.2-3.5 billion in the Indian start-up ecosystem - almost 10 per cent of the total investment the sector received. For CY22, the investments may not even touch $1 billion.
Foreign investors have pumped in a staggering Rs 98,802 crore or Rs 988.02 billion.
Heavy unwinding by foreign portfolio investors and lacklustre equities dampened the sentiment
Fund managers may end up losing out on crucial information during market hours, leading to information asymmetry vis-a-vis other institutional investors such as alternative investment funds, insurance players, or foreign portfolio investors.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 16,459 crore in Indian markets in August, with majority of investment coming in the debt segment. In equities, they invested just Rs 2,082.94 crore while debt segment saw inflow of Rs 14,376.2 crore between August 2-31, depositories data showed. The quantum of investment in the debt segment is highest in this calender year so far.
Continuing their selling spree for the sixth consecutive month, foreign investors pulled out a massive Rs 41,000 crore from the Indian equity market in March on anticipation of rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and deteriorating geopolitical environment amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Further, flows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are expected to remain volatile in the near term given the headwinds in terms of elevated crude prices and inflation, experts said. According to data available with the depositories, FPIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 41,123 crore in the equity market last month.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers to the tune of Rs 12,266 crore in the Indian market in the first five trading sessions of February, as positive sentiment post-Union Budget 2021 sparked a rally in investment.
Foreign investors are pumping funds into debt in order to take advantage of higher yields
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) flows have turned positive on a trailing 12-month (TTM) basis for the first time since December 2021. Thanks to robust inflows over the past three months, the TTM overseas flows into domestic equities stand at over $7.3 billion-the most since November 2021. This has helped propel one-year Nifty returns to 12 per cent.
'At current valuations, we believe large-caps offer better downside support.' 'Hence, we are suggesting a small tilt towards them.'
Overseas investors had put in a net sum of Rs 45,981 crore in March and Rs 11,182 crore in February in the capital markets
Investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market rose to Rs 91,658 crore at February-end, making it the highest level in 33 months, suggesting growing confidence of overseas investors. P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through a due diligence process. According to Sebi data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt and hybrid securities - increased to Rs 91,658 crore in February-end from Rs 84,916 crore at January-end.
Face Rs 1,000-cr minimum alternate tax demand
Infosys was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by Bajaj Auto, SBI, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, Titan and Asian Paints. NSE Nifty rose 19.85 points or 0.14 per cent to 13,760.55 -- its new closing record.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 5 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, PowerGrid, Tata Steel and HDFC Bank.
The bull run in the Indian equity markets is intact, said analysts at Morgan Stanley in a recent note. They expect the S&P BSE Sensex to hit 80,000 levels by December 2023 in their bull-case scenario, to which they have assigned a 30 per cent probability. From the current level, this translates into an upside of nearly 29 per cent.
'A key reason for the strong interest in IPOs has been an increased focus on profitability and reasonable pricing of deals.'
