2013 winds to a close and it is time to set expectations for 2014. Investors expected little from equities in 2013 and they clearly got more than they expected. Expectations for 2014 seem to be qualified by the election factor. A win for BJP would see a reset of expectations…
Quick Edit: The Indian parliament has sat for the least hours in 2013. Sad, isn’t it? But, in the year that Parliament failed to have its usual sessions, it has actually transacted the most important and pending business in recent history. So, FDI in retail, Lokpal and several important legislations…
One week we are celebrating political change. The next week is a very different one. The economic compulsion of politics simply takes over. The mood changes drastically. When food inflation is dogged and unrelenting, fighting it becomes a central banker’s job. But, in doing so, the RBI boss needs a…
When politics sets the agenda for the stock market, it often leads investors to a state of confusion. Should one put economic realities behind and make a leap of political faith? A rational mind will think otherwise. But, investing often goes beyond the rational. Most investors show readiness to overlook…
Quick edit: When will America withdraw their economic stimulus? What will happen if they stop pumping $ 85 billion every month into their economy? Will they actually stop stimulus? Rumor mills and speculation about America’s economic stimulus plans affects every emerging market. India is no exception. One thing is for…
The runaway inflation in agri products has virtually tied the RBI’s hands. Worse, it has tied the UPA in a bind. Inflation continues to stalk the economic policies of the UPA and this stalker isn’t going away anytime soon. The reasons are simple. When you create an asset bubble in…
Diwali came and went. But, the Nifty simply refused to form a new high. As the worst of the quarterly results start flowing, it is more likely that the markets will struggle to hold onto the present levels. With money moving out of defensives sectors like FMCG into cyclical, the…
Indian equity investors approach Diwali with an air of reluctance. The markets hit an all-time high on the BSE SENSEX and approach the Mahurat trading on Sunday with the CNX NIFTY at striking distance of a new high. Yet, there were hardly any smiles all around. People are nervously worried…
Quick Edit: A fortnight is a long time in the stock market. Especially, when it is the year’s first one. The markets closed 2011 on a weak note. The outlook looked bleak on several indicators- tax collections, IIP data, the exchange rate, trade data and FII investment data. Towards the…
The term defensive usually gives us a negative connotation. In stock market parlance, we call a company a defensive because we will not lose money in that company given its stable business performance. But, recent times have seen the defensives perform admirably. Growth has been outlier. Profit growth has been…
When economies slow down, the stock markets struggle to find a stable leadership pack. How this leadership pack is built effectively determines the course of every bull market. The early phase of forming a new market leadership is the toughest. The confidence in a specific sector to effectively provide market…