July sees good recovery – The Indian markets posted a ~10% recovery in Jul’21, in
line with most global markets which were recuperating from heavy losses. Also aiding
the Indian market recovery was a steady flow of good results and a reversal of the
trend seen in FII activity. The FIIs had been sellers for the past nine months and turned
net buyers in Indian equities to the extent of `4,989 Cr in Jul’22 vs. sale of `50,203Cr
in Jun’22. Before this, the FIIs were retreating due to the reversal of expansionary
monetary policy and hikes in policy rates by the Fed to tackle the red-hot inflation.
As a result, in the Fed action, some slowdown is already visible in weaker prints like
contraction in US PMI services as well as a 0.9% QoQ decline in GDP.
Quantum of rate hikes to moderate post 75bps hike in July by US Fed – The US Fed
had further hiked the interest rates by 75bps in July after the inflation in the US soared
to 9.1% YoY. Given the already visible signs of a slowdown and the quantum of
recent hikes, we believe that the Fed would be more data-dependent from here on.
We believe that the markets have digested the hawkishness and a 75bps rate hike is
expected at the FOMC meeting in September given the strong employment data.
Inflation cooling from current levels may result in a lower quantum of rate hikes
going ahead. Globally, the effects of monetary tightening are visible with slowing
growth. Crude has corrected from the highs of US$123 per barrel in Jun’22 to
~US$95 per barrel on a weak global growth outlook.
India is better placed – Compared to the global situation, India is relatively well
placed where inflation is being contained (lower on a MoM basis) and the economy
is showing resilience. The growth in manufacturing continued with Jul’22 PMI
increasing to 56.4 from 53.9 in Jun’22 with better demand conditions and easing of
inflation being witnessed. Services PMI saw some slowing of growth with a reading
of 55.5 for Jul’22. However, easing of pricing pressure would lead to services posting
growth in coming months. GST collections at `1.49 lakh crores, 5th consecutive
month of `1.40 lakh crore+ collections, also point to strength in the economy. E-
way bill generations were up 18% YoY and CV sales remained strong in Jul’22.
Falling crude/commodity prices to provide relief – We believe that the current
scenario of a weaker global outlook can lead to further correction in crude prices.
Indian companies have been impacted on the margin front over the past few quarters
and declining crude/commodity prices would not only prove to be tailwinds but also
aid in containing overall inflation and lead to demand.
Maintain a positive view from a longer-term perspective – We believe that India
stands to benefit from declining crude/commodity prices as it would contain the
widening of trade deficit as a percentage of GDP. Our forex reserves are at
comfortable levels which also provides comfort. Post the recent rally, the NIFTY now
trades closer to its long-term average 1yr- Forward P/E of 20x which we believe
presents limited upside in the current scenario. However, the long-term prospects
remain intact given the low corporate leverage levels, the better position of financial
institutions, and the revival of investment cycle in India.