The stock markets were on a roll this week with all benchmark indices ending high in the green. This was mostly on account of strong global economic activity as all major economies saw an expansion in manufacturing activity and Japan saw its stock market reach its best level in 30 years. At home, India saw strong manufacturing and services output data which further boosted investor sentiment.

Before delving further into market updates, as always, let’s look at an interesting business fact – this time about the world’s most loved beverage – Coca Cola!

Matter of Fact

Coca Cola was originally created by John Pemberton because he wanted a substitute for his morphine addiction. He called it French Wine Coca, a nerve tonic – an alcoholic drink. Soon after, American lawmakers banned the drink sometime in 1886. John had do remake his drink – basically a non-alcoholic version of it. He named the drink Coca Cola – the drink as we know it today.

Markets Update

The Big Picture

• The India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) measures the performance of the manufacturing sector and is derived from a survey of 500 manufacturing companies. It rose to 58.9 in October 2020 from 56.8 in September and signals the strongest improvement in the health of the sector in over a decade.
• The India Services PMI is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in around 350 private service sector companies. It increased to 54.1 in October 2020 from 49.8 in the previous month, easily beating market expectations of 51.2. The latest reading pointed to the first time expansion in the services sector since February.
• India recorded a trade deficit of $8.78 billion in October of 2020, below USD 11.76 billion a year earlier. Exports fell 5.4% to $24.82 billion, while imports dropped 11.56% to $33.6 billion, after a 19.6% plunge in September.
• The value of commercial bank deposits in India increased by 10.1% year-on-year in the fortnight ended October 23rd, 2020.
• The value of commercial bank loans in India increased by 5.10% year-on-year in the fortnight to October 23rd of 2020.

Investing Insights

The Glittering History of Gold

Diwali – India’s biggest and most celebrated festival is here. It’s also a time that is big for the investor community. Even more so, Indians’ obsession with Gold seems to fire up during this auspicious occasion. Keeping in mind the advent of the festive season, we thought it would only be fitting to talk about an ornament that’s so deep-rooted in India’s culture.

Gold has been associated with wealth, richness, and prosperity. Gold has been accumulated (and hoarded) as treasures across most ancient civilisations, like the Indus Valley, the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Chinese dynasties, or the Roman Empire. All this, and its also proved to be a powerful investment tool. Read more, here.

Inside smallcase

SIPs with smallcase

SIP stands for Systematic Investment Plan. As the name suggests, it helps the investor allocate funds in a smart and disciplined manner. Timing the markets is a difficult task, but SIP eliminates that worry. With SIP, you can invest fixed amounts at regular intervals. You, then, stand to have an advantage over market volatility and do not need to monitor the markets constantly.

Buy more when the price is low, less when the price is high. If on the SIP date, the stock price is high, you will be able to buy a lesser number of shares. And vice versa. This ensures that you invest more at lower prices and less at higher prices, and hence your overall cost of acquisition gets averaged out. Try out investing with SIPs in smallcases for passive, long-term wealth creation. Read more about SIPs, here.

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