The post-lockdown recovery seems to have taken an interesting turn. India’s GDP growth has returned to the positive, India’s Manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) data for February is well-placed at 57.5 (backed by new orders and rise in production), and so is the Services PMI at 55.3 on improved demand and favourable market conditions. In…

All eyes were on India’s GDP growth data for Q3FY21 with many market participants expecting an expansion. The data is finally out. The Indian economy, after contracting for two consecutive quarters, has reported a positive growth rate of 0.4% in Q3FY21. Which sectors attributed to the rise after the slump? Agriculture remained steady reporting a…

Around this time of the year, taxpayers start exploring various tax-saving avenues to avail a deduction of up to Rs 1.50 lakh under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. However, the last-minute rush often results in investors choosing tax-saving investment avenues that may not be best suited for them. Financial product distributors and…

The Union Budget 2021 has been one of the most decisive budgets of recent times. The government not only allocated more on infrastructure, healthcare, education, among other sectors but also did not burden the common man with higher direct taxes (although some relief personal income tax was expected amidst the pandemic). The focus was clearly…

Gold had a dream run in the calendar year 2020 with prices rising +28% in INR and +23% in the USD terms. ‘Helicopter money’ (powered by the easy monetary policy actions by the way of near-zero or sub-zero interest rates and bond-buying programmes in the developed markets), lower interest rates in the domestic economy, economic…

New Year celebrations continued on Dalal Street as the S&P BSE Sensex scaled to a new high on January 21, 2021, and crossed a major psychological milestone of 50,000 points. The Indian equity market has come a long way since the S&P BSE Sensex –a 30-scrip free-float market cap index — was launched on January…

The Indian equity markets have been making new highs over the last 9-10 months. Moreover, the rally has been broad-based; meaning, the large-caps, mid-caps, small-caps have all scaled upwards. The calendar year 2020 as a whole proved exceptional, especially for small-caps despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The S&P Small- Cap index clocked a…

Equity markets across the globe are enjoying their dream run–thanks to the liquidity gush available in the global financial system. The ’emergency use’ approvals received for COVID-19 vaccine and its equitable distribution in the foreseeable future has significantly boosted investors’ confidence. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have been pouring money into the Indian equity markets and exuding confidence…

In March this year — just before the outbreak of the Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic hit India in a big way – I wrote about how investors would benefit by investing in gold. And since then, the precious yellow metal has clocked nearly +18% absolute returns. Gold has outperformed even equities on Year-to-Date (YTD) basis as…

Ample liquidity in the system and central banks across the world resorting to interest rate cuts as well as maintaining an accommodative stance to support growth is enabling in the stock markets to scale new highs. Besides, the reduction in the number of new COVID-19 cases in India (compared to the peak of September) and vaccine in…