Another exciting trading week saw several companies trip and lose significant valuation. This trend has become almost routine. Week after week, we are seeing more companies trip up. Naturally, this has a significant bearing on sentiment. As this almost starts to look like a trend, the negativity is spiking sharply.…
The market’s disappointment with its own response to the tax cuts is hardly surprising. The market has this acute habit of hoping that all good things will come to its aid. Investors believe their portfolios have a natural right to benefit from path-breaking policy moves. The readiness of their invested…
It was a trading week that would best fit the Bollywood description of a potboiler. From fear to gloom, and then to despair, the market had almost given up when Friday reversed the mood magnificently to create a typical happy end to the week’s drama. The government decided that it…
To sell 2% of a PSU the government destroyed 10% of its market cap. Nobody cared about the impact cost of disinvestment borne by existing shareholders. For the government to hit its targets, shareholders were made to pay dearly. Naturally, nobody trusts the government anymore and preferred selling PSUs at…
The GDP data has been getting worse for a while. The latest Q1 data which came on Friday beat all expectations hollow on the downside. Clearly, it was a howler. The interesting point to note is the setting and drama that surrounded this release. The minister addressed a presser on…
When people stop spending, it is a sign of fear. When people stop investing, that too is a sign of fear. The signs of fear seemed to be spreading fast and the government knew it well. Debating whether there is a basis for such fear may not ease the situation…
Expectations of a stimulus are running high. The wishlist is long. People are adding their own tail to the already extended list. A drop in GST for automobiles, cheaper loans, more aggressive scrappage policy (for automobiles), waiver of super-rich tax, relief for FPIs, the abolition of LTCG, and many more.…
Every bull market leaves its imprint behind. Stocks that rose sharply in a bull run tend to fall doubly quick afterwards. But, what about those stocks that hardly participated in the bull run? They make an even stronger impression. There will always be parts of the bull market which are…
The week closed on an expectant note. The market expects the government to do effective damage control. The expectations are centered around clear action points. FPI concerns need to be addressed credibly. The NBFC crisis needs a resolution of liquidity issues. The reserve bank must decisively lower interest rates. Banks…
The phenomenon of economic growth engines slowing down is not new. 2012 was the last time we saw something comparable. Growth really worried the government then. So, what makes this time different? Slowdowns at the beginning of a government’s term can truly shake up their finances. It can disrupt revenues,…
The market is showing a palpable despondency. The cause is being overtly attributed to the sentiment related to tax law changes and treatment of the FPIs and the super-rich. This premise is more of an excuse. Investing is a function of attractiveness of valuations and lure of growth. The fact…
Some battles are fought with such intensity that distinguishing the superiority of the winner becomes difficult to justify. It is challenging to decisively say that one is better than the other. Two recent battles tell us that even better players have their odd days. One was the cricket game where the…
