With a rise of around 30 per cent in the benchmark index S&P BSE Sensex, 2014 has been the best year for Indian equity markets since 2009, when the benchmark index surged 81 per cent.
The number of dematerialised (demat) accounts required to hold shares and other securities in electronic format rose by 3.1 million in April, bringing the total tally to a fresh record of 154.5 million. Since December last year, the new additions have consistently remained above the 3 trillion mark, a sign that the stock markets continue to attract new investors despite a spike in volatility.
Sentiment turned weak after data released after market hours on Monday showed that the country's trade deficit, or difference between imports and exports, reached USD 14.88 billion in December, up about 41 per cent year-on-year, as crude oil and gold import bill inflated.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continued their buying spree and poured close to Rs 4,800 crore in the Indian equity markets in the first week of January driven by confidence in the country's robust economic fundamentals. Additionally, they injected Rs 4,000 crore in the debt market during the period under review, data with the depositories showed. With expectations of a prolonged decline in US interest rates in 2024, there is an anticipation that FPIs will likely escalate their purchase, particularly in the initial months of the New Year leading up to the general elections, V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.
Reports have put the IPO pipeline between 19 and 30 issues, of Rs 10,000-20,000 crore or Rs 100-200 billion.
HDFC Bank's latest shareholding data showed that the room for foreign investment has fallen just 5 basis points short of the threshold set by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) to fully include the stock in its indices. Currently, the index provider has applied an adjustment factor of 0.5 since the foreign room is less than 25 per cent. Removal of the adjustment factor will result in inflows of a massive $4.8 billion (Rs 40,000 crore) into HDFC Bank, according to Brian Freitas, a New Zealand-based analyst with Periscope Analytics.
While fundamentals have improved, run-up in shares has been sharp and valuations do factor in near-term upsides.
The number of dematerialised (demat) accounts - required to hold shares and other securities in electronics format - crossed the 150-million mark for the first time in March. In March, 3.12 million new demat accounts were added despite a spike in market volatility, taking the total count to 151.4 million. The milestone has come 19 months after the total number of demat accounts hit the 100-million mark, a sign that more domestic households are taking to direct equity investing.
The cryptocurrency exchanges in India have got a fresh lease of life following the bull run in Bitcoin, which briefly hit a new all-time high of more than $69,000. Siddharth Sogani, managing director of CREBACO, expects the price to cross $1,00,000 by the end of the year. This will see a sharp reversal in the Indian market, which has largely been dormant since the new tax regime was implemented in 2023.
Investor wealth zoomed over Rs 10.48 lakh crore in two days as the Budget-driven market euphoria continued to charge bulls on Tuesday.
'Some buyers believe prices may correct in the future.' 'This is unlikely. Many developers are increasing prices amid strong sales and inflationary trends.'
Benchmark Brent oil futures prices more than halved between June 2014 and January 2015.
Dominant double World champion Sebastian Vettel took pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix for the fourth year in succession on Saturday, with Mark Webber to start alongside the German on an all-Red Bull front row.
Generally, it has been seen that commodity prices are driven higher by surging demand throughout the world. But the irony is that the latest surge comes amid concerns about a weaker global economy. At present, commodities prices are rising because the U.S. interest rates are falling below the rate of inflation.
Is the bull market in commodities over? The 75 per cent reduction in the Federal funds rate and big rally in the stock market has some wondering if the whole cycle of monetary stimulus may be almost finished.
Nikkei 225 index hit the 40,000 mark for the first time ever on Monday, continuing its bull-run that saw the index reclaim its 1989 peak of 34,000 levels in February. as global investors latched on to Japan's biggest companies on improving shareholder returns, the weaker yen and booming corporate profits. Analysts remain bullish on Japan, mostly aided by gains in technology shares. Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a note by Morgan Stanley, is likely to benefit Japanese companies, which is almost at par with the US-based companies.
The three-judge panel denied a request by Alves's lawyer Ines Guardiola for the trial to be suspended on the basis that he was not given enough time to prepare for his first police interview after his arrest and had suffered a parallel trial by media.
Is this a good time for people to invest in stocks? Or do you feel that the stockmarket is overheated and will soon nosedive?
'We expect the bull-market phase to still persist, but now led by large-caps which offer better valuation and benefit from FII inflows.'
'We expect continued pressure on midcaps, but any sharp correction looks unlikely from here on.'
Given its risky profile, the realty sector could collapse if the bull run fails to take off
Mutual funds (MFs) added systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts at a record pace in 2023 with the net additions in the calendar year surpassing 15 million - 24 per cent higher than the 2022 tally of 12.2 million, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
These are usually found among small and midcaps. It is not easy to find such stocks, especially after a strong bull market, discovers Debashis Basu.
Riding on a bull run, equity investors became richer by Rs 128.77 lakh crore in the 2023-24 fiscal, driven by robust fundamentals of the Indian economy, increased investment inflows and promising corporate earnings. After a muted performance in 2022-23, equity markets made a remarkable recovery in FY24, giving handsome returns to investors. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 14,659.83 points or 24.85 per cent in 2023-24.
A portfolio can be rebalanced by either selling a portion of the outperforming asset class or by buying more of the underperforming asset class.
In the first part of a series on how foreign portfolio investment is driving the Sensex, Janaki Krishnan and Rakesh P Sharma examine what it is that is drawing these funds to the Indian equity market
The biggest bounce is in the realty sector, where the industry index jumped 80%. There's been a turnaround also in automobiles and ancillaries (up 45%). The pharma and health care indices have a welcome return of roughly 35%.
'What happens in the real estate market is that once the prices go up it goes on to stay at that level.' 'It might not increase and at the same time the prices will not come down too.'
The present consolidation can be used to buy into some fundamentally good blue chips including select PSU banks that have lagged the general market, says Sonali Ranade
Global tea prices are likely to maintain their upward trend this year because of tight supply in the wake of a projected 10 per cent decrease in production in Kenya, according to the latest findings by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations Organisation.
The likes of J P Morgan will now have to buy back gold in order to repay the Venezuelan government and this will drive the price of gold up globally.
