The document provides a weekly market review for the week ended March 15, 2013. It summarizes developments in international markets, various regions including Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Americas. For India, it discusses the equity markets declining in line with other emerging markets. It also summarizes macroeconomic indicators, bond markets, inflation trends, and outlook for the upcoming RBI policy meeting.
Indian equities surged in the month of March in a catch-up rally after months of range-bound trading on the back of easing inflation giving rise to expectation of lower interest rates, strengthening rupee and record foreign investor flows. Indian equities rose by 7.8 per cent during the month.
Read the full document to know more.
Dear Investors,
The month of July has seen the heavens literally open their doors and shower their blessings on us. After a late start in June, the monsoon picked up
smartly and the country as a whole received abundant rainfall, bringing cheer to one and all and definitely a sense of relief. The same good cheer
seems to have percolated to the global equity markets as well. Having brushed off the Brexit issue, markets have continued their upward move
relentlessly through the month of July. The US benchmark index, the S&P 500 hit a new lifetime high earlier in the month on the back of good jobs
data and an optimistic view of growth in the US economy. Not wanting to be left out in any way, the Nifty set a new 52-week high and the Sensex
scaled 28,000.
The quarterly results have been a mixed bag so far. While there have been more hits than misses, the IT sector as a whole and some pharma
companies have been the major pockets of underperformance. Most of the private sector retail banks and NBFCs have shown a stellar performance,
while growth in public sector banks was stagnant due to liquidity and NPA issues. In the consumer space, lower costs have added to the profits of
several companies, but revenue growth and volume growth were disappointing. There is hope that these will see a significant pick up in the second
half of the financial year once the benefits of the 7th Pay Commission and a good monsoon kick in.
Interim Budget 2019, presented on Feb 1, held a few good surprises for the farmer community and the salaried classes but was largely in line with market expectations. Markets, which had already ended January 2019 on a flat note (up 0.5% for the month), remained largely unaffected by the Budget announcements. Read the document to know more.
Indian equities surged in the month of March in a catch-up rally after months of range-bound trading on the back of easing inflation giving rise to expectation of lower interest rates, strengthening rupee and record foreign investor flows. Indian equities rose by 7.8 per cent during the month.
Read the full document to know more.
Dear Investors,
The month of July has seen the heavens literally open their doors and shower their blessings on us. After a late start in June, the monsoon picked up
smartly and the country as a whole received abundant rainfall, bringing cheer to one and all and definitely a sense of relief. The same good cheer
seems to have percolated to the global equity markets as well. Having brushed off the Brexit issue, markets have continued their upward move
relentlessly through the month of July. The US benchmark index, the S&P 500 hit a new lifetime high earlier in the month on the back of good jobs
data and an optimistic view of growth in the US economy. Not wanting to be left out in any way, the Nifty set a new 52-week high and the Sensex
scaled 28,000.
The quarterly results have been a mixed bag so far. While there have been more hits than misses, the IT sector as a whole and some pharma
companies have been the major pockets of underperformance. Most of the private sector retail banks and NBFCs have shown a stellar performance,
while growth in public sector banks was stagnant due to liquidity and NPA issues. In the consumer space, lower costs have added to the profits of
several companies, but revenue growth and volume growth were disappointing. There is hope that these will see a significant pick up in the second
half of the financial year once the benefits of the 7th Pay Commission and a good monsoon kick in.
Interim Budget 2019, presented on Feb 1, held a few good surprises for the farmer community and the salaried classes but was largely in line with market expectations. Markets, which had already ended January 2019 on a flat note (up 0.5% for the month), remained largely unaffected by the Budget announcements. Read the document to know more.
Valuations are not cheap, Business Cycle remains in the nascent stage. We believe, the current macro-economic scenario is much more conducive for a Business Cycle Recovery due to Global and domestic policy response.
We believe valuations are not cheap, but business cycle remains in the nascent stage. Prefer middle-of-the-road approach and recommend investing in schemes with higher flexibility.
A mutual fund is the money pooled in by a large number of investors and offers an opportunity to invest in a diversified and professionally managed basket of securities at a relatively lower cost. Read for more details.
Risk is a result or outcome which is other than what is / was expected. It is the amount of money that an investor can afford to lose in the interim, in his quest for certain return on investments. It is a state of uncertainty. Read more to find out how to access your risk appetite.
Asset allocation is an investment strategy. It helps to keep a balance between risk and return of any particular asset class. Asset allocation refers to investing a certain percentage of your investible surplus in respective asset classes, such as equity, debt, gold and real estate. Read to understand asset allocation in detail.
As you may be aware, life expectancy of individuals has increased; which brings with it rise in medical and living costs during old age. Therefore, it is imperative to make provision for expenses wisely. All of us want to maintain our standard of living during our old age as well, but to do so we need to actually start thinking and planning for our retirement right from the beginning of our career when we are young. This ppt aims to help you understand how you can identify and establish your financial goals.
As you may be aware, life expectancy of individuals has increased; which brings with it rise in medical and living costs during old age. Therefore, it is imperative to make provision for expenses wisely. All of us want to maintain our standard of living during our old age as well, but to do so we need to actually start thinking and planning for our retirement right from the beginning of our career when we are young.
This session aims to help you understand how you can identify and establish your financial goals.
An Investor Education & Awareness Initiative By Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund
In order to check your financial health, you need to ask yourself a few questions related to your finances. In this, learning session you will understand those questions which will help you plan you finances better.
An Investor Education & Awareness Initiative By Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund
The inflation bug as we learnt in our earlier learning ppt, "Are you Saving or Are you Investing", eats into our hard earned savings. So the value of our money reduces. Here in this learning session let’s learn more about “Time Value of Money”, which can help you manage your finances better.
An Investor Education & Awareness Initiative By Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund
Many people often misconstrue savings with investments. But let us tell you that there is indeed a difference between the two. Merely putting aside money under the mattress, or in a vault, bank locker or savings bank account after meeting your expenses and liabilities may not mean that money works for you. In times where the inflation bug is eating into your earnings, you need to move a step forward and invest. More importantly, invest wisely! By now many of you may have realized that there is indeed a difference between saving and investing. So let’s delve a little deeper and understand the difference between the two…which can help us march forward in our journey of wealth creation.
An Investor Education & Awareness Initiative By Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund
1. Market Review
WEEK ENDED MARCH 15, 2013
International
Encouraging economic data out of key economies helped many developed market stock indices to touch
multi-year cyclical highs. However, in continuation of the 2013 trends, EM equity indices continued to
underperform. The MSCI AC World Index closed up 0.68% helped mainly by gains in Japan and the US.
Global bond yields eased marginally and the spreads between US treasuries and other key treasuries hit a
new high on optimism about the US economy. Physical demand alongside data suggesting inflation was on
the rise in US boosted gold prices for the second consecutive week. This along with overall increase in
market risk appetite helped the Reuters Jefferies CRB Index close up 0.70%. In currency markets, the US
dollar retreated at close of week on speculation that US monetary policy will remain accommodative
amidst moderate inflation numbers. The Aussie dollar surged as the economy added 71,500 jobs in
February.
• Asia-Pacific: Japanese equities registered sharp gains on the back of positive US economic news flow
and expectations the upcoming change in leadership at BoJ will have a favourable impact. EM Asian
equities however fell sharply and closed the week in negative territory. Notwithstanding the upbeat
investor sentiment in Japan, latest machinery orders data (for January) reflected a weak capex
environment. Amidst concerns about rising mortgage rates, property developers led Hong Kong equities
lower. Chinese consumer inflation jumped up from 2% in January to 3.2% in February and comments
from PBoC officials indicated discomfort over inflationary pressures. Policymakers pegged current year
growth at 7.5% and retained focus on consumption. The Bank of Korea kept its benchmark policy rate
unchanged at 2.75%.
• Europe: Regional equity markets closed higher amidst signs of a new deal to allow budgetary
flexibility to deal with growing opposition to austerity measures. Ireland accessed bond markets for the
first time since January 2010 and raised €5bn at yields lower than those of comparable bonds of crisis-
affected Euro nations. International lenders agreed to a ~$13 bln bailout for Cyprus, but imposed a 9.9%
levy on all bank deposits over €100,000. On the economic front, industrial production in Eurozone and
UK fell 0.4% and 1.2% respectively in January. The Norges Bank left policy rates unchanged at 1.50%
but significantly reduced its policy rate projections.
• Americas: US equity markets remained buoyant on the back of sustained positive economic news flow.
Better than expected US retail sales figures reinforced expectations of increased consumer spending. US
industrial output rose by 0.7% in February and jobless claims four-week average fell to multi-year lows.
At the same time, US consumer prices moved up 0.7% on the back of sharp increase in gasoline prices
and consumer sentiment declined to 71.8 from 77.6. Elsewhere in the region, Brazil’s retail sales increased
5.9% in January from a year earlier and authorities announced a series of tax cuts on foodstuffs/staples to
lower inflation. Mexico cut policy rates by 50 bps to 4%. On the corporate front, SAC Capital agreed to
pay over $600 mln to SEC for settling insider trading charges.
2. Weekly Weekly
change (%) change (%)
MSCI AC World Index 0.68 Xetra DAX 0.71
FTSE Eurotop 100 0.71 CAC 40 0.10
MSCI AC Asia Pacific 0.81 FTSE 100 0.09
Dow Jones 0.81 Hang Seng -2.42
Nasdaq 0.14 Nikkei 2.26
S&P 500 0.61 KOSPI -0.97
India - Equity
Indian equity markets fell in line with many other Emerging Markets. While latest economic output data
was relatively positive, markets remained cautious as inflation indices rose ahead of RBI’s policy review
next week. Small cap stocks continued to underperform large caps. All sectoral indices closed in the red,
except defensive sectors such as FMCG and healthcare. Consumer durables and banking stocks were the
top losers. Foreign portfolio flows amounted to $490 mln in the first four trading days of the week.
• Macro: Latest economic data releases pointed towards stabilization/modest pick-up in the economy.
Exports growth picked up (+4.2%yoy) and this along with slower expansion in imports helped the trade
deficit decline to multi-month lows of $14.9 bln (previous month $20 bln).
Trends in Trade Deficit (US$ bln)
Source: DGCI&S
Growth in India’s industrial production bounced back in January – up 2.4%yoy after a –0.5% in December.
Expansion in electricity and manufacturing output helped offset weakness in the mining sector. Use-based
classification indicated capital goods production remained in the negative territory. While the January IP
number has surprised on the upside, the cumulative data for the fiscal year to date remains dismal at 0.9%
vs. 3.4% in the corresponding period previous year.
As we have been saying, incremental policy push on investments remains critical for a sustainable economic
recovery. The current slowdown traces its origins to the policy response after the global financial crisis in
2008.The large fiscal stimulus in the following years resulted in consumption-led growth even as investment
3. activity got impacted due to various policy issues.The withdrawal of the fiscal largesse thereafter was quite
gradual and this combined with the infrastructural bottlenecks in the country led to supply-side pressures
and high inflation. This has inevitably led to higher interest rates that have now started to impact
consumption. Hence, there is an urgent need to boost investment activity through higher infrastructure
spending and reforms.While India was one of the few economies across the globe that coped well with the
global crisis, it needs to strengthen the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
Weekly change (%)
BSE Sensex -1.30
S&P CNX Nifty -1.23
S&P CNX 500 -1.34
CNX Midcap -1.55
BSE Smallcap -2.44
India - Debt
Indian bond markets were volatile as investors digested fresh economic news flow and speculated about
probability of rate cuts at next week’s RBI policy meet. Foreign funds bought Indian debt securities worth
$287 mln in the first four trading days of the week. S&P stated that the sovereign rating outlook can be
revised upwards if fiscal deficit is contained and investment climate improves.
• Yield movements: Benchmark gilt yields closed mixed – yields at the short-end spiked reflecting the
systemic liquidity shortfalls – 1 year gilt yield closed up 18 bps. At the same time, yields at the longer
end of the curve ended flat compared to last week levels.
• Liquidity/borrowings: Demand for liquidity under the RBI’s LAF window rebounded this week and
overnight call money rates edged higher to close at 7.8-7.9% mark. RBI infused close to Rs. 10,000 crores
into the system through OMO purchase auctions.
• Forex: The rupee extended gains from last week helped by foreign fund flows, dollar sales by exporters
and relative dollar weakness. As of Mar 08, Indian forex reserves stood at around $290 bln, about $224 mln
less than previous week levels primarily due to revaluation of forex assets.
Trends in core headline inflation