'The problem is that the bubble may not only be in valuations, but also in investors' minds.'
Equity benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled nearly 700 points to sink below the 79,000 level on Tuesday, extending its losses for the second straight day due to selling pressure in HDFC Bank, SBI and ITC amid fresh foreign capital outflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 692.89 points or 0.87 per cent to settle at 78,956.03. During the day, it tanked 759.54 points or 0.95 per cent to 78,889.38.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled higher on Thursday, powered by a rally in banking and power stocks amid a largely firm trend in global markets. The stock markets mostly traded range-bound in the absence of any major trigger and persistent foreign capital outflows, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 144.31 points, or 0.18 per cent, to settle at 81,611.41.
The rupee has depreciated by 0.6 per cent so far in the current financial year.
The Rs 84,000 crore domestic fund of funds (FoFs) space, which was in the doldrums over the past 18 months, has now caught the attention of investors due to a change in the tax structure in Budget 2024. The broader category, which includes offerings across equity, debt and commodities, has seen a spike in the inflows over the past two months. FoFs typically deploy the pooled capital in one or multiple MF schemes rather than investing directly into equities, debt or commodities.
Multi-asset allocation funds emerged as the most popular option for MFs as they provided the needed flexibility.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty slumped over 1 per cent on Friday, tracking a weak trend in global markets and fresh foreign fund outflows. Falling for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,017.23 points or 1.24 per cent to settle at 81,183.93.
Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd's impressive stock market debut has brought cheer to the 100-year-old Bajaj Group, but the conglomerate faces the prospect of Bajaj Finserv being removed from the benchmark Sensex index. According to market expectations, Trent, a Tata group-owned fashion retailer, is likely to replace Bajaj Finserv during the upcoming index rebalancing in December.
Among the Sensex components, Nestle, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were the major laggards. Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
The mutual fund industry continued with the positive momentum in the September quarter, attracting Rs 34,765 crore, although it was a massive reduction as against the Rs 1.85 lakh crore inflow in the preceding quarter, primarily due to withdrawal from debt segment. Most of the asset classes saw net inflows during the July-September period of the current financial year barring the fixed-income or debt segment, which witnessed net outflows. Overall, flows started on a strong note during the quarter under review, with net inflows of Rs 82,467 crore in July, which dipped to Rs 16,180 crore in August and ended with a disappointing Rs 63,882 crore of net outflows in September, according to a report by Morningstar India.
While SGBs are a sound investment, they aren't worth buying at any price. The interest income you earn from them will not justify paying a high premium.
The total number of demat accounts in the country stood at 171.1 million as of August 31.
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.
Benchmark Sensex declined over 45 points in highly volatile trade on Wednesday, tracking weak Asian markets and continuous foreign fund outflows. Declining for the second straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 45.46 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at 73,466.39. During the day, it went lower by 437.93 points or 0.59 per cent to 73,073.92.
The partially revised figures for FY'08 stood close to $3 billion at $2,827 million while, the two fiscal years FY'06 and FY'07 saw an outflow of $1.1 billion each and the same was $642 million in fiscal 2004-05.
The much-talked-about sale of Ambuja Cement and ACC by Holcim Group will see the single-biggest outflow of foreign capital from the country if the two cement firms are acquired by Indian investors. The deal, valued at nearly $10.35 billion, will put in the shade Cairn Energy Plc's exit from India in 2010, when it sold Cairn India to Vedanta Group for $4.48 billion. According to various reports, big business groups such as AV Birla, JSW Group, and Adani Group are in the fray to acquire Holcim's assets in India.
Once we break free of the idea that land is scarce, real estate is just a pile of bricks, steel, and glass. Any price surge will kick off a supply response, which kills off the possibility of sustained price appreciation, points out Ajay Shah.
India country funds saw an outflow of $700 million
Liberalising outflows might not be of a great help in the short run because a greater liberalised regime generally attracted more inflows, said RBI Governor Y V Reddy, speaking in Hyderabad on the management of capital account in India.
"There was no water leakage but the rainwater came down from the pipes fixed to install electric wires," Mishra said.
In view of the rising number of mobile and internet banking users, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to tighten norms related to the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) by increasing the run-off factor for retail deposits. "Banking has undergone rapid transformation in recent years. "While increased usage of technology has facilitated the ability to make instantaneous bank transfers and withdrawals, it has also led to a concomitant increase in risks, requiring proactive management," the RBI said in the draft guidelines released on Thursday.
Asian Paints, JSW Steel, ITC, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were among the laggards. In contrast, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Infosys and HCL Tech were the gainers.
Banks submitted bids amounting to Rs 4.75 trillion, around 2.5 times of the notified amount of Rs 1.75 trillion, at the Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRR) auction conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 22, a day after the liquidity deficit in the banking system widened to Rs 2.5 trillion. In the most recent VRR auction held by the RBI on December 15, bids totaling 2.7 times the notified amount were received. Banks secured Rs 1 trillion at a weighted average rate of 6.63 per cent.
Indian retail investors continue to sell gold ETFs.
Several mutual funds (MFs) have recently approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as they renew efforts to increase their overseas investment limit. In June 2022, the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) permitted MFs to invest in foreign stocks within the aggregate mandated limit of $7 billion after a correction in stocks. One of the proposals shared with the RBI is to link MFs' foreign investment limit to the country's foreign exchange reserves.
An article on 'State of the Economy' in the monthly Bulletin also said the improvement in the outlook for agriculture and the revival of rural spending have turned out to be the bright spots in the evolution of demand conditions. Consumer price inflation ticked up in June 2024 after three consecutive months of moderation as a broad flare-up in vegetable prices halted the overall disinflation that had been underway, it said.
All investors should ideally have a 10 to 15 per cent allocation to gold. Whether they invest in gold ETFs or SGBs should depend on their investment horizon.
From the Sensex basket, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, and Larsen & Toubro were the major laggards. Titan Company, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, Maruti, ITC, Power Grid and Reliance Industries were the gainers.
There was net outflow of $7.2 billion from the Indian market in June of which $5.4 billion was from debt market triggered by global risk aversion and currency weakness, Deutsche Bank India Equity Strategy report said.
'To the believers of crypto regulations, I have only one question to ask, how will you regulate it?'
Foreign investors continued to pull out large sums from the emerging market equity funds last week, with the Asian equity funds witnessing an outflow for the sixth week in a row taking the total exodus to over $18 billion so far is year.
This was the second consecutive yearly outflow from such funds.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted two overnight variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auctions on Tuesday, marking the first instance of such action in a single day. The move aimed to reduce liquidity from the banking system, which has been largely in deficit mode for the past four months. Market participants noted that the central bank held the second VRRR auction due to its awareness of funds being released to banks during the day.
The ongoing fourth quarter earnings season, global factors and macroeconomic data would guide the trends in the equity markets this week, analysts said. Markets would also take cues from trading activity of foreign investors, rupee-dollar trend and movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude. "Domestically, the next batch of Q4 earnings reports will drive stock-specific movements, Hero MotoCorp, Larsen & Toubro, BPCL, State Bank of India, Eicher Motors and Tata Motors are some of the big names in the list and the next phase of voting," said Pravesh Gour, senior technical analyst, Swastika Investmart Ltd.
In 2013-14, the funds witnessed outflow of Rs 2,293 crore
Small and midcap schemes may impose restrictions on redemptions, cap employee withdrawals, and increase the exit load, while ensuring a proportionate liquidation of the portfolio during market crises to safeguard the interests of all investors. These measures have been outlined in the investor protection policies recently put out by mutual fund (MF) trustees. The policies for small and midcap schemes were prepared by MF trustees following directives from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) earlier this month.
According to a report by mutual fund tracker Morningstar, India-focused offshore funds and ETFs had witnessed a cumulative net outflow of $1.8 billion during 2012 as against a net withdrawal of $5.4 billion in 2011.
Foreign investors made a significant turnaround and injected over Rs 1,500 crore into Indian equities in February, reversing the massive outflows seen in the preceding month, primarily due to robust corporate earnings and positive economic growth. Additionally, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continued to be bullish on the debt markets as they put in over Rs 22,419 crore during the month under review, data with the depositories showed. Looking ahead to March, the outlook for FPI flow appears promising, provided the current economic trajectory and corporate performance sustain their positive momentum, potentially continuing to attract foreign investment into Indian equities, Mayank Mehraa, smallcase manager and principal partner at Craving Alpha, said.
'We will supply dollars in case of extreme volatility.'
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