The Indian stock markets ended last week on a positive note with benchmark indices ending the week in green. The theme that drove market sentiments this week was inflation. Globally, economists are worrying that inflation might rise after years of being subdued. However, the most recent inflation data came in lower than expected – this made investors hopeful of a strong recovery from the covid-19 induced crisis, which led to buying interest in the markets.

Anyway, before moving on to further updates about the markets, here’s a quote for you for the week… 🙂

Quote of the week

“Investing is like math – it can get really complicated, but it’s the simple stuff that is powerful.”

Markets Update

The Big Picture

• Industrial production measures the output of businesses integrated into the industrial sector of the economy. India’s industrial production rose by 29.3% in May 2021 when compared to the same period last year.
• The annual Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) in India increased to 6.26% in June 2021 compared to 6.3% in May and lower than market forecasts of 6.58%.
• India’s Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) rose by about 12.07% YoY in June 2021, below market consensus of a 12.23% rise, and easing from a near 22-year high of 12.94% gain a month earlier.
• India’s trade deficit (imports minus exports) stood at $9.37 billion in June 2021, compared with a $0.79 billion surplus in the same period of the previous year, amid a rebound in domestic and international demand as economies re-open from the coronavirus-induced restrictions.
• Deposit growth, which measures the growth in commercial bank deposits, stood at 9.8% in the fortnight ended July 2nd, 2021 when compared to the same period last year.
• Loan growth, which measures the growth in commercial bank loans, stood at 6.10% in the fortnight ended July 2nd, 2021 when compared to the same period last year.

Investing Insights

India’s IT sector: A deep dive

India’s IT sector has been one of the most promising and best-performing sectors of the country. It contributes over 7.7% to India’s GDP and this figure is expected to be at 10% as soon as 2025. A number of things have led to this.

Favourable government policies and skilled workers at a cheaper cost when compared to western counterparts are 2 of the main reasons why India is the world leader in IT services exports. Read more about the sector and how you can benefit from its growth, 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.

That’s all for this week. Happy Investing! 🙂