County Bond Financial News

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin Buckland

Imran Sattar will remain as the sole manager of the fund, which led Square Mile analysts to remove the rating due to the “material” change in structure.

Gold rate today: On account of profit booking trigger in US dollar leading to rout in US government bonds, gold price today went up during early morning deals. Fold future contract on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) for December 2023 expiry opened higher at ₹56.825 per 10 gm and went on to hit intraday high of ₹58,880 levels within few minutes of commodity market's opening bell today. In international market, gold price is quoting aound $1,828.50 per ounce levels.

More and more Wall Street equity strategists are sounding the alarm on the impact of higher interest rates.

Global investment bank JPMorgan’s decision to include Indian government bonds into its emerging market bond index is expected to be a game changer for the bond market, and a spillover effect will be seen in debt mutual funds as well. The inclusion in the bond index will channel global passive debt flows in India, as passive funds, by nature, are longer term, says Avnish Jain, head-fixed income, Canara Robeco Mutual Fund. Expectations of large FII inflows due to the bond inclusion and rate hike cycle peaking in both local and global markets should start attracting inflows into debt funds, Jain said. In an interview with ETMarkets, Jain highlighted the significance of the bond inclusion, the inflows outlook, and the asset allocation strategy for debt fund investors. Edited excerpts: Let’s begin with the hot topic today. What changes for India’s bond market with the JPMorgan bond index inclusion? The inclusion in the JPMorgan bond index is a game changer for the Indian government bond (IGBs) markets. While FII investments have been allowed in IGBs for a long time, they were more active and selective in nature, depending on the overall macroeconomic situation as well as relative attractiveness of the Indian debt market within the EM space. The inclusion in the bond index will channel global passive debt flows in India. Passive funds, by nature, are longer term and generally fluctuate only in case of change in weightage in the index.

While student loan debt is a concern for Americans of all ages, for those approaching retirement still burdened with repayments from their younger years is particularly worrying.

FTSE Russell kept India on a watch list for inclusion in the FTSE Emerging Markets Government Bond Index (EMGBI), the index provider said on Friday. «Areas for improvement in the Indian government bond market structure highlighted by international investors remain largely unchanged from the previous March 2023 review,» FTSE said in its annual country classification review. The move comes a week after JPMorgan announced India will be a part of its influential GBI-EM index suite starting in June.

New Delhi: Global index provider FTSE Russell kept India on a watch list for inclusion in the FTSE Emerging Markets Government Bond Index (EMGBI), the index provider said on Friday. "Areas for improvement in the Indian government bond market structure highlighted by international investors remain largely unchanged from the previous March 2023 review," FTSE said in its annual country classification review.

US investment-grade bonds have swung to a loss for the year as the Federal Reserve’s determination to raise interest rates to counter inflation spreads pain across debt markets.

The Liberal government’s latest plan to get more rental housing built is to expand a program that helps developers secure cheaper mortgage rates as higher interest costs affect the viability of new projects.

JP Morgan said it expects India’s weight to reach a tenth of the GBI-EM Global Diversified index.

volatility in the near-term after JPMorgan announced India's inclusion in its widely tracked emerging market debt index, BlackRock's head of Asia Pacific fixed income said on Friday. JPMorgan said 23 Indian Government Bonds (IGBs) with a combined notional value of $330 billion were eligible for inclusion in its Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index and index suite, benchmarked by about $236 billion in global funds. Neeraj Seth, chief investment officer and head of APAC fundamental fixed income at BlackRock, expects inflows of around $20 billion to $25 billion into India after the maximum weight threshold of 10% is achieved on the GBI-EM index. Given the size of the $2 trillion global government bond market, it may add only a little bit to the volatility in Indian bond markets, Seth told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. The volatility would become «more profound and visible» if foreign ownership were to go into double digits, Seth said, adding that he expected foreign ownership of Indian government bonds to rise to 3.0%-3.5% post-inclusion. «I don't think that's significant enough to move the markets around,» he said. Foreign investor buying in Indian bonds has remained tepid with net purchases of $3.4 billion so far in 2023. Foreign investors own less than 2% of outstanding government debt. Separately, Seth believes there will be a shift in asset allocations as markets head into 2024, which he sees becoming a «very attractive year», especially for U.S.

Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) on Friday welcomed the decision of global financial major JP Morgan to include government bonds in its benchmark Emerging Market Index from next year, saying it will result in more demand for government securities. It will help bring over USD 30 billion into government bonds or government securities (G-Sec), AMFI Chief Executive NS Venkatesh said. «We welcome the decision. This will increase the demand for government bonds resulting in the yields coming down. The forex inflow of over USD 30 billion will result in strengthening of Indian Rupee,» he told PTI. The inclusion of IGBs will be staggered over a 10-month period from June 28, 2024, to March 31, 2025, with a one per cent increment on its index weight each month.

government securities in the JP Morgan emerging market debt index has the potential of making the rupee stronger and reduce the government's borrowing costs, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry V Anantha Nageswaran told reporters on Friday. JP Morgan on Friday said it plans to include Indian government bonds, or government securities, in its benchmark emerging market index from June next year. The inclusion of government securities will be staggered over a 10-month period from 28 June 2024 to 31 March 2025, indicating one per cent increment on its index weight.

India's inclusion in its widely tracked emerging market debt index, BlackRock's head of Asia Pacific fixed income said on Friday. JPMorgan said 23 Indian Government Bonds (IGBs) with a combined notional value of $330 billion were eligible for inclusion in its Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index and index suite, benchmarked by about $236 billion in global funds. Neeraj Seth, chief investment officer and head of APAC fundamental fixed income at BlackRock, expects inflows of around $20 billion to $25 billion into India after the maximum weight threshold of 10% is achieved on the GBI-EM index. Given the size of the $2 trillion global government bond market, it may add only a little bit to the volatility in Indian bond markets, Seth told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. The volatility would become «more profound and visible» if foreign ownership were to go into double digits, Seth said, adding that he expected foreign ownership of Indian government bonds to rise to 3.0%-3.5% post-inclusion. «I don't think that's significant enough to move the markets around,» he said. Foreign investor buying in Indian bonds has remained tepid with net purchases of $3.4 billion so far in 2023. Foreign investors own less than 2% of outstanding government debt. Separately, Seth believes there will be a shift in asset allocations as markets head into 2024, which he sees becoming a «very attractive year», especially for U.S.

rupee ended higher on Friday after JPMorgan announced it will include the country's government bonds in its emerging market index, which could lead to billions of dollars of inflows. The rupee ended at 82.93 against the U.S. dollar, compared with 83.09 in the previous session. The currency gained 0.3% this week even as the dollar index rose to an over 6-month high in Asia and was on track for its 10th consecutive weekly gain. Importers' dollar purchases capped gains in the rupee after the currency opened at 82.8225 on Friday, traders said. India's inclusion in JPMorgan's index will start on June 28, 2024, and extend over 10 months.

emerging market debt index which may cause billions of dollars of inflows into India. As per reports, quoting JPMorgan, India's local bonds will be included in the Government Bond Index-emerging markets (GBI-EM) index and the index suite, benchmarked by about $236 billion in global funds. The inclusion of Indian bonds will start on June 28, 2024, and extend over 10 months with one per cent increments on its index weighting, as India is expected to reach the maximum weighting of 10 per cent, according to JPMorgan.

emerging market debt index. This inclusion is likely to prompt billions of dollars of inflows into the world's fifth-largest economy. India's local bonds will be included in the Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index and the index suite, benchmarked by about $236 billion in global funds according to JPMorgan.

Bank of England

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