The government’s fiscal policy since the pandemic began has prioritised growth and fiscal transparency over fiscal consolidation. The Budget 2022 presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman just did that. However, macro risks of executing the budget proposals remain a key concern among investors. The Union Budget 2022 indicated not only is the…

While 2021 was all about growth and recovery, the focus of central bankers across the world has shifted towards inflation and monetary policy normalization given the context of US Fed Tapering and potential hardening of interest rates in 2022. So, will these worries amid rising Omicron variant of covid cases derail equities rally going ahead. To di…

Indian equities are ending 2021 with over 20% gains outperforming other peers in emerging markets. Despite the brutal second wave of covid and rising inflation, markets hit record highs multiple times during the year led by factors such as decline in covid cases in the second half of the year, a significant pickup in the pace of vaccination, and th…

The real estate sector made a smart recovery despite the pandemic in 2021 with segments like residential outperforming. After facing a series of structural reforms like demonetisation, GST and RERA during the last decade, the pandemic was another blow for the real estate sector. But the sector is gradually emerging. The disruption caused by the pan…

Markets have entered into an extremely volatile phase. The Nifty ended its six-month winning streak in November, ending 4% lower, pulling back 8% from the record highs of October. Much of the market anxiety is led by global factors but a big fundraise in the primary market also had put some pressure on liquidity.While economic activities are gradua…

As Indian markets have seen a robust increase in trading volume with equities hitting record high multiple times post-pandemic, brokerage firms have made great business. Bank-brokerages reported a strong uptick in earnings in the last fiscal but The retail broking segment has seen a significant disruption in the last few years due to the growing pr…

Do you know modern technology and mathematical computations can make trading decision for profit by breaking down very complex data and eliminating the emotional decision-making that can occur during trading. That’s called Quantitative trading or quant strategy of trading.Quantitative traders take a trading technique and create a model of it using …

Post pandemic, re-rating of real estate stocks has surprised markets as Nifty Realty index has outperformed the midcaps by more than 60% in the past year. The pandemic played a catalyst in accelerating market share gains into the hands of organised real estate players. Boosted by economic recovery and robust stock market wealth creation, the top ei…

Mint and HT Smartcast wish all our listeners a happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year. Markets have ended the year Samvat 2077 with best gains in 13 years despite covid led lockdowns and uncertainties which had deterred economic growth. Riding on abundant liquidity, investors made nearly 40% profit in equities this year, the best returns compared t…

Global analysts are raising red flags on India’s equity performance. They are gradually becoming uncomfortable about steep valuations and hence are cautious about the allocation of funds despite India outperforming global peers in 2021 so far. Recently, a BofA survey showed global fund managers are no longer bullish on emerging markets and want to …

Investors are eagerly watching company results to see whether earnings growth justifies share-price gains during the sizzling stock-market rally this year. Companies are facing rising investor expectations going into the second-quarter earnings season as the Indian markets have outperformed global peers, with valuations near historic highs. However…

In what is being perceived as a tapering signal, the RBI suspended the bond purchase programme, G-Sec Acquisition Program (G-SAP), after Rs 2.37 trillion purchases in first half of FY22. The monetary policy committee (MPC) kept its policy rates and accommodative stance unchanged but did not announce any new set of liquidity-enhancing measures for t…

Riding widespread optimism, Indian markets have been scaling fresh record highs as the Sensex hit 60000. Indian markets have been rising in most days of September despite periodic nervousness around China’s Evergrande debt defaults cascading to a global crisis and US Federal Reserve rate tapering decision. However, investors are concerned. Rising i…

What if I tell you: Shell companies with no commercial operations are formed to raise capital through an IPO for acquiring an existing company. What if I also tell you that even retail investors can invest in these blank cheque companies. Well, I am talking about Special Purpose Acquisition Company shortly called as SPAC. SPACs have been around in …

As stock markets beat the pandemic blues, investor wealth ballooned in a period when most businesses were struggling due to challenges posed by lockdowns amid loss of income. With limited options to spend due to no travel and stay-at-home guidelines, a gush of fresh money found its way to stock markets in the last one and half years. Many rode on t…

Corporate earnings in first-quarter showed skewed growth in select sectors. Companies benefited from low base, posting better earnings in Q1 compared to last year but sequentially earnings showed contraction as margin pressure intensified with high input prices and reversal of cost rationalisation measures. So, will earnings momentum continue in FY…

Despite the stock markets hitting record highs this year, some investors have turned cautious on equities. In fact, BofA Securities have warned that a correction is likely in the near term.Analysis of past bull and bear phases of Indian stock markets show after a rally of about 75 weeks with an average 106% return, markets typically correct about 3…

Although 2021 showed a promising start, new variants are leading to renewed covid19 waves and lockdowns in many Asian countries. Still, equity markets continue to surge, while in India, markets have been hitting record highs. As stock consistently makes new life highs defying elevated valuations, net inflows into equity mutual fund schemes galloped…

While fresh slippage has spiked across banks, sluggish disbursements have further resulted in muted trends in loan growth, particularly in Retail showed an analysis of June quarter results. Although, deposit growth remains healthy, NII growth has been subdued. Banks are carrying additional provision buffers post June quarter. Adding to that, two bi…

1QFY22 has been one of the best quarterly performances by Indian IT services companies, with sequential revenue growth of 4.5% in dollar terms. Mid-tier IT companies have reported the highest ever growth during the quarter. There were strong deal wins, with one of the highest ever pipelines while there has been an increase in guidance from some of …

Indian companies raised over Rs 27000 crore through initial public offerings (IPOs) this year, the highest in at least a decade compared to six months of previous years, driven by gushing liquidity in capital markets and investor euphoria. Favourable market conditions have made it attractive for companies to raise equity capital at relatively highe…

Oil prices climbed to $77.16 a barrel last week, its highest in nearly three years, as a result of a deadlock over the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) production quota. Even as the spread of coronavirus variants and unequal access to vaccines threaten the global economic recovery, crude oil prices remain critical for many importing countries like Ind…

Indian companies are racing to adopt environmental, social, and governance norms on rising pressure from investors and regulators. Wave of ESG focussed funds have hit India too. Domestic ESG funds AUM was at Rs 9800 crore in FY2021 with seven of 10 such funds launching post-June last year.Are companies that have missed opportunities due to lack of …

The pandemic crisis deteriorating in India especially in the last few months and delayed economic recovery due to localised lockdowns had very little impact on equities. Investors continued to pump money into equities, making it the best performing asset class in the first six months of 2021. However, with the V-shaped recovery in global economy, i…

The US Federal Reserve's hint at raising interest rates by 2023 is feared to derail Indian markets rally with foreign flow getting drained out of emerging markets. The US central bank’s hawkish comments last week send markets worldwide in a sell-off mode. Federal Reserve officials held interest rates near zero but stunned investors by signaling it …

Domestic mutual funds are increasing their holdings in banks despite fears of bad loans amid the turbulence caused by pandemic. However, March quarter earnings of banks suggest that concerns over asset quality are less worrisome and second covid wave impact is likely to be manageable. As the corporate cycle seems to be clearly turning which banks a…

In the last monetary policy review, the Reserve Bank of India left key interest rates unchanged as widely expected. The monetary policy stance remains accommodative, and the tone is explicitly dovish. It is quite evident that growth remains the policy priority for the central bank. The RBI has also reiterated its stance of keeping liquidity ample a…

The economy contracted by 7.3% in FY21, its first contraction in four decades. India’s real GDP grew 1.6% in March quarter. Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of GDP, improved to 5-quarter high in March quarter. GDP for FY21 and fourth quarter indicated that unlocking of business operations drove economic growth for two quarters…

Market valuation of all listed firms on the BSE touched $3 trillion for the first time, led by gains in smaller stocks. With small and midcap stocks outperforming benchmarks, investors seem to be shifting to the riskier segment. How risky is this bet and how long are these stocks likely to rally. To understand that Mint’s Nasrin Sultana is joined b…

Despite the challenges due to covid, biggest rich Indians have seen an increase in wealth. A stock markets boom, driven partly by quantitative easing, and flurry of new listings have created wealth for some, much more than perhaps could have been expected in a year so badly disrupted by covid.To understand, where is the hot money flowing? And what …

Stricter restrictions imposed by states to check the spread of covid-19 has hurt mobility in the country, and various assessments indicate, that could deepen the economic impact in the coming weeks. Mobility indicators such as Google retail & recreation and Apple driving index have dropped significantly in the past weeks after the second wave inten…

With the grim covid situation India’s sensitivity to global liquidity is a risk for market condition. The pandemic and a slowdown of foreign institutional investors or FII to India is exposing markets vulnerability. In April, FII outflows from Indian equities were at $1.5b after six consecutive months of inflows. DIIs, however, were net buyers for …

Pandemic stress and subsequent regional lockdown have not yet curbed the markets’ optimism for FY22 earnings. However, localized restrictions are expected to lead to some downward revisions in earnings, but that could be limited as large corporates are better prepared this time. A large economic damage like last year is unlikely to happen. The ques…

As more states are imposing stricter restrictions to control covid, mobility in the country is impacted. Even as ramp up in vaccination programme amid the brutal second wave in India may see a limited economic impact, there is a fear that lockdowns will slow down business activities and will lower spending and income. Many economists have already d…

There is a growing concern about the rise of covid cases and the second wave engulfing the country. Markets have lost around 8-9% from record highs touched in February while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have turned net sellers of Indian equities first time in seven months. As more states have joined the worst-affected state of Maharashtra…

From lows hit in March last year after lockdown, small and midcap stocks outpaced Sensex which has gained over 70% in the period. Earlier in 2017, small stocks had a robust rally leading to losses in following year as stocks with no fundamental support lost steam while valuations peak. But the tide has clearly peaked in FY21. The latest data showed…

The Insurance Amendment Bill 2021 is passed by parliament to increase FDI limit in the insurance sector to 74% from the current cap of 49%. Besides, country’s biggest insurance company LIC is gearing up to launch its IPO soon. LIC is also the biggest DII which invest directly into equities. So, to understand how these factors will change the landsc…

Market regulator Sebi has asked mutual fund houses to restrict the exposure to additional Tier I and II (AT1 and AT2) bonds. This directive comes after write-offs in such bonds issued by two banks in the past year had hit investors. The Department of Financial Services had written to Sebi to withdraw the guidelines related to the change in valuatio…

Sustainable funds showed resilience during the covid pandemic market sell-off. Driven by growing investor interest in environmental, social, and governance issues, the global sustainable fund universe pulled in around $45.6 billion in the first quarter of 2020. The last three years have seen a steady increase in assets in sustainable funds. Assets …

In the budget for FY22, the government has made around 34% higher allocation to infrastructure development. The government has expanded its ‘National Infrastructure Pipeline’ to cover more projects, while also setting up a new development finance institution. The government is looking to monetize brownfield projects, track asset monetization, set u…

After a blockbuster rally following the budget, markets is losing sheen. Most recently, there are fresh concerns over rising number of covid cases leading to fears of a deeper impact on economy. Adding to those uncertainties is the fear of rising global inflationary risks as crude prices have been on the surge. The sell-off in equities worldwide is…

Corporate earnings grew at a robust pace in the December quarter even as the overall economy has not yet completely recovered from the brutal covid blow. Now that q3 earnings session is almost over and the Union budget for FY22 is behind us, the key question is what are stock markets focusing on as benchmark indices are hitting record highs day aft…

The Indian Budget for FY22 marks a clear change in the government stance from being fiscal conservative to growth focussed. Higher expenditure is geared towards capex while the govt seems committed to reforms like strategic disinvestment including PSU Banks, higher FDI in insurance, and most importantly new asset reconstruction company for bad-loan…

With the Indian economy set to contract in FY21 and fiscal deficit to rise due to covid induced pain what are the big announcements markets are expecting from the FM this year. Analysts say that the key focus of government in this budget would remain on growth with a clear focus on capex revival and manufacturing, boosting healthcare and sanitisati…

The fiscal trend during FY21 turned a corner in the October-December quarter with sequential improvement in revenues, particularly in GST and income tax collection, alongside already-elevated excise duty collections helped by higher petroleum taxes. With pandemic risks largely capped for now, India has experienced a faster-than-expected pace of eco…

India Inc. is expected to stay on the earnings growth path supported by the festive season and a revival in economic activity from the sluggishness when the country faced tighter pandemic-related curbs. The profit bounce in most companies is also likely to be driven by aggressive cost cuts and the lag effect of lower input prices. So, are corporate…

The year 2021 is expected to be a better one for markets with likely strong recovery in both economy and earnings compared to a covid-hit 2020. Markets have not only recovered from over a 20% slump in March last year but also hit record highs multiple times in 2020. Both the BSE Sensex and Nifty gained 15-16% in the year, the best yearly performanc…

The year 2020 has been historically a tough year as the pandemic struck economies in an unprecedented way. The volatility and uncertainty sparked by COVID-19 pushed Indian rupee to hit a record high of 76.90 against the dollar, but the infusion of excess liquidity by both government and central bank across the globe supported the risk appetite and …

Despite the serious impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the Indian and global economy, the year 2020 is ending on a positive note for stock markets investors. Markets are at a new high as we are set to enter 2021. However, it is a foreign liquidity-driven rally and how long will this rally last in Indian markets in 2021. To discuss that, Mint's Nasr…

As overall markets gained massively from the March lows, mid and smallcap stocks saw a blockbuster rally in the last nine months after covid outbreak. After the markets crashed in March, BSE Smallcap index rallied 97% and BSE Midcap jumped 81% outpacing both Sensex and Nifty which have gained around 75% in the period. Earnings revival in these smal…