February Newsletter 2024

Date: 15-Mar-2024

A lot has been said about the health of the financial sector being pristine. We have come a long way from the problems being faced in the last decade.

Date: 15-Feb-2024

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das commentary on the Red Sea attacks Ongoing wars and conflicts and the emergence of new flashpoints in different parts of the world, with disruptions in the Red Sea being the latest in the series, impart uncertainty to the global macroeconomic outlook during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting announcements highlights the escalating risk of the crises on global trade including India

Date: 11-Jan-2024

The Indian markets closed 2023 up 20%. This was the 8th consecutive year of Nifty closing with positive returns. After a nearly flattish performance in 2022, analysts predicted a low single-digit performance in 2023.

Date: 14-Dec-2023

Our research team, in the past couple of months, has been meeting senior management teams of companies operating across multiple industries to gain detailed insights on performance and the current business environment.

Date: 13-Nov-2023

‘Hamare Ghar Lakshmi Aayi Hai’, are generally the first words used to welcome a baby girl in any Indian family. Considered the beauty epitome, Goddess Lakshmi stands for fortune and prosperity. Alas, except the initial referencing, women are not seen or heard anywhere in the financial spectrum.

Date: 19-Oct-2023

Since Oct-21, equity market performance has been muted, and that led to slowing down of equity market turnover as well. However, after months of decline, the month of Apr-23 marked a trend reversal.

Date: 13-Sep-2023

The 18th Head of States and Government summit - G20 summit took place in Delhi on 9-10th September. The G20 comprises of 19 countries and the European Union. Under India’s presidency the theme for the summit was ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’. India presidency began from 1st December 2022, as the Indonesian President Joko Widodo transferred the presidency gravel to Indian PM Narendra Modi at the end of the Bali Summit.

Date: 17-Aug-2023

India’s performance in the past 6 months has been among the top quartile with Nifty giving returns of 7.5% Vs returns of S&P500 at 8.5%, DAX at 1.5%, Shanghai Composite at -2.9%, CAC at -1.3%, FTSE 100 at -7.8%. While this rally surprised many market participants, it was warranted as it came after a long period of consolidation on the Nifty. The mid and small cap indices have given even higher returns.

Date: 11-Jul-2023

On 28th June, Nifty50 breached it previous all-time high price of Dec’22 and that marked the creation of new all-time high (ATH). In between the market corrected by ~10%, with the market forming a low at ~16800 in Mar’23. From that low the market has rallied one way by ~15%. When the markets enter the all-time high territories, investors worry if is this the right time to invest.

Date: 12-Jun-2023

In Q4FY23, Nifty50 recorded double-digit sales growth of 10% YoY and strong double-digit PAT growth of 18% YoY. Nifty 200 sales growth was at ~11% YoY, and PAT growth was at ~17% YoY driven by banks & NBFCs, and auto sector. Earnings drag for Nifty 200 in Q4FY23 was primarily from metals and cement sectors.

Date: 12-May-2023

Artificial Intelligence” or “AI” with the potential to significantly alter our lives and transform the world is one of the most talked about topics in recent times. AI has gradually become a part of our daily lives with the usage of products such as Amazon’s Alexa to providing Netflix / Prime recommendations to all kinds of ‘smart’ devices being used, AI is the driving force for most of these new age technological comforts. So, while the concept of AI has been around for a few years, the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 is the latest viral sensation in this space.

Date: 11-Apr-2023

According to the Federation of Automobile dealers association of India (FADA), which is an apex body of Automobile retail industry in India, In FY23, it was a strong show across segments, wherein, except tractors, all other segments posted growth in double digits.

Date: 10-Mar-2023

In the world where finding a job is much tougher for women than men, this year’s International Women’s Day theme #EmbraceEquity is quite apt, where Equity is not just about nice-to-have, it should be a must-have. At present, globally labour force participation rate for women is a little below 47% and for men, it’s 72%. In the 20th century where women across the world were underrepresented across industries, becoming CEOs, entrepreneurship and investing would seem highly ambitious. In 2022, 85% of Fortune 500 CEOs were men and 15% were women. Yet, as of March 2022 women CEOs rose to 71 is a record jump, up from 41 in 2021, 18 in 2012 and only 7 in 2002. Not only globally, even in India, women are making ground-breaking achievements across every sphere of life, and in particular entrepreneurship and investing.

Date: 14-Feb-2023

Budget every year in India is a strong breeding ground for numerous thoughts and discussions across different economic strata where everyone holds an opinion right from the Aam Aadmi to corporate honchos.

Date: 01-Feb-2023

The first budget of Amrit Kaal carried the baton of complementing macro-growth with micro-all-inclusive welfare backed by digital economy and tech-enabled development.

Date: 13-Jan-2023

Nifty ended the year with 4% return. This is on the backdrop of subdued returns across indices of all major world economies. 2022 was difficult year for the Indian markets. It started with the Omicron scare in January followed by Russia-Ukraine war in February.

Date: 16-Dec-2022

Our research team in the past one month has met over 40 corporates across multiple cities and industries. The team held in-depth discussions with senior management teams on the current business environment. strategy, outlook & growth plans. Below are the important takeaways from the meetings for some prominent sectors

Date: 17-Nov-2022

Overall, Nifty50 PAT declined by 3 percent YoY, however, PAT ex-Financials & Commodity registered strong growth at 24 percent YoY, which was 3 percent ahead of consensus estimates. FY23E Nifty50 consensus earnings expectations have been revised downwards by 3 percent mainly due to commodity-led miss, whereas FY24E earnings estimates remain largely flat at 0.5 percent upward revision. Let us dive in.

Date: 18-Oct-2022

A lot has been spoken of the rising interest rates this year and where it is headed. In this article, we will compare India v/s US and see how these two countries differ in terms of trajectory, levels and most importantly, the current position that these countries are in. We also take a look at the most important driving force in today’s interest rate rise, INFLATION. How are the two countries stacked up in terms of inflation and who is better equipped to handle it? Let’s dive in!

Date: 16-Sep-2022

Indian equities have outperformed most of the global indices over the past one month (between 12 Aug to 13 Sep 2022) and for the month of Aug-22. Nifty-50 delivered a strong positive performance and was up 2% MoM compared to key global markets which were down by an average of about 5% over the past one month. Two driving factors during the month which led to Indian equities outperformance were 1) Improved investor sentiments due to weakness in commodities, and 2) FIIs turning net buyers during the period in August 2022.

Date: 17-Aug-2022

India’s freedom fighters did not just free us from British rule. While the Indian freedom struggle teaches patriotism, grit and sacrifice, we can also learn valuable investment lessons. We can achieve financial freedom for ourselves by combining the power of investments and the power of compounding. On this Independence Day, we must take a pledge to move towards financial freedom via long-term wealth. Following are some valuable lessons that we Indians can learn from our freedom fighters.

Date: 16-Jul-2022

As you can see, much of what we read has been scary enough to reach for the stop button in the equity markets. But let’s pause for a moment and try to sift through the noise. Yes, it is true that commodity prices have corrected and in some cases, the correction has been fairly steep. The Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index, which tracks 23 energy, metal and crop futures contracts has lost more than 20% since touching a multi-year high in Jun-22. However, let’s not loose sight of the fact that this correction has come after an unprecedented rally since early 2021. The table below will bring this out clearly.

Date: 16-Jun-2022

India’s GDP growth slowed for the fourth consecutive quarter to stand at 4.1% in Q4 FY22, reflecting a combination of reducing favourable base effects and full-blown effect of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The lower growth was led by subdued industrial sector growth (1.3%) and slowdown in services sector growth (8.1% to 5.5% QoQ). Growth plunged in manufacturing (-0.2%) and construction (2%), mining sector saw growth slowdown (8.8% to 6.7% QoQ) driven by rising raw material prices. The agriculture segment (4.1%) as well as electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services segment (4.5%) witnessed stable growth trends. On a full-year basis, FY22 GDP grew 8.7% YoY after FY21 had de-grown 6.6% YoY. GDP is now above pre-COVID levels (1.5% over FY20 levels).

Date: 17-May-2022

The RBI on 4th May ’22, surprised the market by raising the policy repo rate by 40bps to 4.4% and the CRR by 50bps to 4.5%. The market was surprised, as the hike occurred at an unscheduled meeting of its monetary policy committee (MPC) 4 weeks after its last meeting, and 5 weeks prior to its next scheduled one. However, if we go by the recent turn of events, we would realize that the rate cut was not a surprise, but an inevitable one to tame rising inflation.

Date: 17-Apr-2022

The banking industry is the backbone of any economy. When the pandemic struck, there was concern and uncertainty among the stress formation and health of the banking industry. The demonetization, GST & RERA implementation, corporate asset quality woes, Asset Quality Review (AQR), had weakened the banking industry and many thought the pandemic could be the final nail in the coffin for an already struggling sector. Will loan growth hold up, will the asset quality worsen, will the capital be sufficient, will banks be able to raise fresh capital, will the borrowers survive the pandemic, how long will the pandemic last, were the burning issues surrounding the banking sector. Two years on, we have still not heard the last word on the pandemic. However, the banking sector appears to have come out of this crisis stronger than ever.

Date: 16-Mar-2022

Since the past two years, a sequence of unprecedented events transpired and disrupted the global economic balance considerably. The chaos caused by the pandemic in 2020 was followed by the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates to fight inflation. While the world was coming to grips with these twin blows and as it was emerging from the latest wave of Omicron, the Russia-Ukraine crisis began and aggravated the macro backdrop, and caused a commotion in global equity.

Date: 17-Feb-2022

Q3FY22 earnings saw companies largely delivering on the earnings front, despite the inflationary pressures from rising commodity and energy prices. Banks and NBFCs reported stellar results on the back of an improvement in asset quality trends led by controlled slippages, healthy recovery, and upgrades as well as a pickup in loan growth. IT remained steady, with strong topline growth and a robust deal pipeline driving strong sales growth. Within healthcare, price erosion continued to affect the US Generics business.

Date: 01-Feb-2022

Indias growth currently is the highest among all major economies; we are now in a strong position to withstand challenges. The goal should now be to complement macro-growth with micro-all-inclusive welfare backed by digital economy and tech-enabled development. With this in mind, the FM laid down the focus areas of budget 2022: PM Gati Shakti, Inclusive Development, Productivity Enhancement, Sunrise Opportunities, Energy Transition, Climate Action, Financing of Investments.

Date: 15-Jan-2022

2021 was quite an eventful year for the world. From achieving the distant goal of Covid vaccination to second Covid wave to creating history in the Olympics, India’s journey in 2021 was a story of ups and downs. As a whole, it was a year when people finally started returning to their normal lives. Let's take a quick recap of events that made headlines in the country in 2021.

Date: 15-Dec-2021

Amid the rising concern over the surge in cases related to the new variant in some countries, World Health Organization (WHO) classified Omicron as a ‘variant of concern’ on 26th Nov’21. However, Omicron is not the first variant to be classified as a concern. Let’s look at the classification of covid variants and their meaning.

Date: 15-Nov-2021

Q2FY22 earnings season has almost come to an end and overall results were above expectations within the NSE 200 universe with 86 beats vs 48 misses. Several metrics contributed to better than expected growth. The companies benefitted from the strong revenue growth in the technology sector, higher commodity prices & volume growth in the energy, metal sectors, and also the opening up of the economy. Margins of domestic consumption sectors were impacted due to rise in input cost. Within financials, steady recovery in loan growth and improved asset quality of most private lenders was the hallmark of the quarter.

Date: 15-Oct-2021

Early business updates for Q2FY22 by some large and mid-corporates suggest continuing economic recovery. High frequency macro indicators for Jul-Sep’21 quarter such as manufacturing PMI, services PMI, personal loan growth, GST collections, electricity production, sequential uptick in air freight and passenger traffic, quantum leap in digital transactions and core sector growth all pointed towards the expanding demand in the economy. Current account surplus for Q1 FY22 confirmed robust growth in IT services growth. On contrary, weakness in demand is detected from macro indicators such as auto sales and industry credit, which will show up in corporate results. Oil price spike beyond US$80/barrel is a key macro risk in terms of its impact on trade deficit and inflation.

Date: 15-Sep-2021

‘India reports highest ever quarterly GDP growth’, read the headlines in some newspapers. The headlines sound very exciting and worth grabbing eyeballs. Overall GDP growth in Q1 FY22 was impressive at 20% YoY led by Construction and Manufacturing sectors which grew in excess of 50% YoY. There was no sector which reported a negative YoY growth in this quarter. But is the picture really so rosy? Has India’s economy broken the shackles and on a tear away growth path? Let’s deep dive and find out!

Date: 15-Aug-2021

The recently concluded, Tokyo Olympics has been exceptional in so many ways. Held in the midst of uncertainties and fear brought on by the pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics after getting postponed by a year was definitely one of the most challenging Olympics to date. However, despite these setbacks, it was by far the best in terms of performance and medals tally for India, with seven medals – one gold, two silver, four bronze and enabled India stand 48th in medals tally, its best ever position.

Date: 15-Jul-2021

Do you remember going to a restaurant not knowing what the menu is like or how the reviews are? Or hunting for menus of a restaurant, placing an order, tendering exact change and waiting impatiently, unaware of the time till delivery? Clearly, seems like a thing of the past. The new age FoodTech platforms have made us accustomed to a great deal of convenience which is here to stay.

Date: 15-Jun-2021

India’s Q4FY21 GDP growth at 1.6% YoY was positive for the 2nd consecutive quarter. However, FY21 GDP de-grew by 7.3%. Government consumption led from the front in order to pull up the overall GDP. Robust improvement in government expenditure can be attributed to increase in capex spending by both central & state governments. Private consumption showed a small positive growth in Q4FY21 for the first time during the year (55% of GDP). With most of services being subdued throughout the year, private consumption was expectedly poor and the biggest contributor to the FY21 GDP de-growth. While the year gone by has been tough and the start of this year is unassuming, all is not lost.

Date: 15-May-2021

The above quote by American author Hal Borland exudes a lot of optimism. The quote states that despite the current gloomy situation, we can still have hope and faith that good will come to us. We think given the situation that the whole world is in, it is important that we try to remain positive and hopeful (apart from remaining safe and indoors). For the COVID ravaged world, after death and gloom we have hope and vaccine. The world has once again started looking ahead with a renewed confidence that we will be able to breathe easy (quite literally!) soon.