50: Big hits and misses of September quarter earnings.

11/26/20 • 18 min

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.

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49: What does oversupply of foreign money mean for Indian markets?

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.

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51: Are Indian markets out of woods yet?

So what is in store for markets in 2021? Of course, much will depend on progress toward a vaccine and other efforts to mitigate the health crisis but what are markets staring at in the year ahead. As Indian markets rallied over 70% from March lows riding on foreign money, the question is are we out of the woods yet. To discuss the big trends and key risks of markets in 2021, Mint's Nasrin Sultana is in conversation with Prasun Gajri, CIO, HDFC Life.