All Things Markets

The Sep-quarter corporate earnings was better-than-expected. Adjusted net profit growth turned positive in July-September after a year-long slump as consumers shrugged off the pandemic to deliver a surprise rebound in consumption.Besides costs declining dramatically, operating margins expanded and there was also an improvement in cash flows and a near collapse in capex. There were broadly three trends in second quarter of FY21: spillover of demand from Q1 to Q2 as well as restocking the pipeline in anticipation of festive sales; massive share gains by the unorganized sector; and, lastly, significant cost control. As trends from the festive season suggest continued demand recovery. The question is will earnings revival sustain. To discuss that I am in conversation with Deepak Jasani, Retail Research head, HDFC Securities.

As markets staged a massive recovery post covid lows global brokerage firms have started raising their targets for Indian markets reiterating their bullish stance. Global brokerage firms such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Nomura feel that the Indian markets have more legs to the rally as economic indicators show recovery while corporate earnings are hinting that revival is on the track. Indian benchmark indices have rallied over 60% from the lows hit in March, while continuously hitting new record highs this week. Confidence of foreign investors have led to a massive supply of money into Indian equities at a time when domestic institutional investors are on the sidelines. So far in November, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have pumped in $4.15 billion in Indian shares, highest in last three months with a total inflow of nearly $11 billon for the whole year. So, what does the oversupply of foreign money mean for Indian markets? To understand that I am in conversation with Anil Gupta, Sector Head - Financial Sector Ratings, ICRA.

Indian government announced fresh measures to spur demand and revive growth. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced a set of measures worth Rs 9,675 crore to boost consumer demand by front-loading some expenditure. The measures include LTC cash voucher scheme for central government employees and a special festival advance scheme. Amidst this, in September quarter earnings there is an expectation for sequential improvement by consumer companies driven by rural markets while urban recovery appears to be slow. Meanwhile, intermittent closure in top 100 towns, rise in job losses and wage reduction across section has further weakened consumer sentiments, resulting in higher demand for value-for-money products. To understand the consumer demand trends, Mint's Nasrin Sultana is in conversation with Shirish Pardeshi, analysts, Centrum Broking.

Expectations of better September quarter corporate earnings, improvement in domestic economic macro data, and strong global markets have improved investor sentiments. However, now negotiations are halted for additional US stimulus until after the election. Besides the US elections, Bihar elections in India is going to bring some volatility. Are these one -time blips or key risks staring to halt the robust rally in Indian markets. To understand that, I am in conversation with Dhiraj Sachdev, Managing Partner, CIO, Roha Asset Manager

The India volatility index (VIX) or fear index has cooled off drastically from the March highs and is hovering around six-month low. Join Nasrin and Chandan Tapadia as they analyse the index and trends in this episode. Tune in for more...