Interim budget take on consumption slowdown to act as cues for retail
₹95,585.6 crore via equity schemes of mutual funds in the fiscal year through November, retail investors—including small, HNI and NRI investors—investing directly on the exchanges have net sold shares worth ₹43,091 crore over the same period. While purchasing a net ₹8,700 crore on NSE, they net sold shares worth ₹51,791 crore on BSE, accounting for an overall net sale figure in the period under review.
“The sale in the cash market can be attributed to profit boo-king, guided by investor desire to invest in other asset classes like realty, or be purely need based," said Vijay Mehta, president of nodal brokers body, Association of National Exch-anges Members of India, or ANMI. Motilal Oswal’s head of retail research Siddhartha Khemka agreed and added that as the selling was on BSE it would have been related to “profit booking in mid-, small- and micro caps." While NSE data on retail investor flows in December will be released with a lag, BSE data shows that clients and NRIs sold ₹11,221 crore of shares on the exchange.
According to market experts like A. Balasubramanian , MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, statements of the government intent to address the consumption slowdown “could fuel" fresh retail flows into equities.
“One way to address the slowdown could be by putting more money in the hands of taxpayers by relaxing personal income tax slabs. That won’t happen in the vote on account, but statements acknowledging the need to address the consu-mption slowdown could possibly drive retail flows into markets," said Balasubramanian.
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