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.
In response to the panic triggered by Trump's trade policies, the RBI net sold approximately $43 billion in the second half of FY25 to curb volatility, as the rupee plunged to a low of 87.95 per dollar in February this year.
After pulling out $17 billion in calendar year 2022, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pumped $7.3 billion back into equity markets so far this year. The turnaround in foreign flows has helped domestic markets exceed the all-time highs chalked up in December 2022 and bounced back more than 10 per cent from this year's lows. However, a big nugget of FPI inflows seen this year could be off the back of two factors: exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and block deals.
'Investors can consider staying invested in long duration products as there is a possibility of rate cuts in the near term.' Positive macros - lower inflation, high forex reserves and favourable demand-supply dynamics for government bonds - make a strong case for rate cuts from December, says Devang Shah, head of fixed income, Axis Mutual Fund. In an interview with Abhishek Kumar in Mumbai, Shah says this view may not hold true if commodity prices go up sharply.
'If you align your ambition with India's rise, the peak of your careers will unfold alongside the peak of India's power.'
'Entering India is exciting, but it's also challenging. You have to be prepared for long-term investment.'
Education loan growth is set to halve this fiscal (FY26) because disbursements for the US decelerate following a raft of policy changes there.
Donald Trump's tariffs, meant as political punishment, have avoided the predicted chaos, lifting US growth, weakening rivals, and letting him claim victory in a resilient global economy, observes T T Ram Mohan.
Global factors and FII activity will dictate trends in domestic equity markets this week while assembly poll results of Maharashtra and Jharkhand may impact stocks on Monday, say analysts. Stock markets witnessed a spirited recovery on Friday with benchmark Sensex and Nifty notching the best single-day gains in more than five months and offering relief after weeks of correction.
Former Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto had acknowledged his country's tango with terror operatives, saying that Pakistan has a past.
The improving earnings and economic outlook has titled the scales back in favour of Indian equities this year, reports Pavan Burugula.
'Tax rate and stock markets are entirely two different things.'
The story of the Bombay Stock Exchange and the people who shaped its growth: From wars and bomb blasts to speculators, reformers and wealth creators.
From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Nestle, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors were the biggest gainers. However, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and UltraTech Cement were the laggards.
'The increase in the limit for TDS on interest to Rs 1 lakh will ensure greater cash flow in the hands of senior citizens.'
Mutual funds' equity buying remained elevated for the fifth consecutive month in December, taking the net equity purchase past Rs 1.7 trillion in 2023. The aggressive buying in December indicates that flows into equity funds are likely to have remained unaffected by the sharp run-up in the market last month. Mutual funds (MFs) bought equities worth Rs 23,000 crore last month (until December 28) compared to Rs 18,000 crore in November, shows data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
These investors have pumped in about Rs 6,900 crore (Rs 69 billion) in the seven trading sessions after the Federal Open Market Commission meet.
'We may see this momentum going into 2025 and may keep up with the demand, given the strong pipeline.'
Fund managers do not see any dent in the India story. Given the strong fundamentals, there is optimism that foreign fund flows may even exceed 2005's level of $10.7 billion.
State Bank of India, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and PowerGrid were also among the laggards.
Mutual funds (MFs) have stepped up equity purchases after staying on the fence for over two months. Their net equity investments reached a four-month high of Rs 7,700 crore in July, rising for the fourth consecutive month after withdrawing a net of Rs 5,100 crore in April 2023. This trend continued in August, with net investments of Rs 3,400 crore in the first three trading sessions, according to data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
India gains at the expense of Russia and Brazil
Deteriorating ties between India and Canada could have a bearing on flows into the domestic capital markets. At present, Canada is the seventh largest country for foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows into India. According to the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), the assets under custody (AUC) of FPIs domiciled in Canada stood at nearly Rs 1.8 trillion ($21 billion) at the end of August. Almost 85 per cent of these investments are in listed equity, while the remaining in debt and hybrid instruments.
Following the sharp run in markets, valuations across the board have become elevated. The National Stock Exchange Nifty50 Index now trades at a 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 24.3 times, 18 per cent higher than this year's low of 20.5 times. The valuation expansion in the broader markets has been sharper.
Active largecap funds, which have the toughest job in terms of outperforming the benchmark, did better in 2023 as their bets in the mid and smallcap stocks paid off.
Fitch Ratings has removed energy infrastructure company Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) from its 'Ratings Watch Negative' list, the first upgrade by an international ratings agency since the US indictment. Fitch affirmed AESL long-term foreign and local-currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) at 'BBB-'.
Private equity (PE) activity in India between January and November 2024 recorded a total value of $30.89 billion across 1,022 deals, a 22.7 per cent increase in value and an 18.4 per cent rise in deal count compared to $25.17 billion across 863 deals during the same period in 2023. Notable large deals during the period include Walton Street India Investment Advisors at $1.5 billion, and KiranaKart Technologies at $1.35 billion.
The heightened global uncertainty due to the US "reciprocal tariffs" on India may cause near-term corrections and market turbulence, but the long-term outlook remains constructive, market experts said on Thursday. The US has announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India, citing high import duties imposed by New Delhi on American goods.
Rahul Bajaj, who has been attending the WEF Davos meeting for over a decade, said flow of funds in stock market should be taxed to check the liquidity build-up as is done by the Reserve Bank of India through Statutory Liquidity Ratio and Cash Reserve Ratio.
Reliance Lifestyle is an arm of Reliance Retail, a leading domestic player in the organised retail space.
Concerned over the increasing flow of banking funds into the stock markets, the Reserve Bank on Friday tightened the credit facility for Mutual Funds and asked banks not to guarantee payments to stock exchanges on behalf of Foreign Institutional Investors.
Sebi on Friday barred fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya from the securities markets and restrained him from associating with any listed firm for three years in the matter of routing of funds to the Indian securities market using overseas bank accounts with UBS AG. The Indian government has been attempting to extradite Mallya from the United Kingdom to face fraud charges related to his now-defunct company Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya has been living in the United Kingdom since March 2016.
Given the strong growth in Asia and easy monetary stance taken by central banks other than the US Federal Reserve (US Fed), overseas investors will soon start re-investing in risky assets, says Abhiram Eleswarapu, head of equity research, BNP Paribas Securities India.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India will notify the rules by August 1.
Investors should avoid making drastic changes to their asset allocation during a market correction.
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.
'Of the 20 trading days of January till January 28, FIIs have been selling for 19 trading days'. 'When did FIIs withdraw money with this kind of intensity?' 'It never happened. It's the first. It did not happen even during the 2008-2009 financial crisis when Lehman went under.' 'Even then you did not have like a 19-day selling spree from the FIIs.'
'Higher inflows into these securities should lead to lower borrowing costs for the government.'
Investors continue to back-up equity mutual funds in June as such schemes attracted a net inflow of Rs 15,498 crore on strong flows from systematic investment plans despite volatility in the stock market and relentless selling by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs). This also marked the 16th straight month of positive inflow in equity schemes. Inflows into equity mutual funds in June was lower compared to the net inflow of Rs 18,529 crore seen in May, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Friday.
