NEW DELHI – It is no secret that the global economic upheaval caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and aggressive monetary tightening plans by the US Federal Reserve has prompted overseas investors to exit Indian equities in droves.
While the foreign outflows from Indian equity markets have dominated the recent headlines, the latest data on overseas investment activity in debt doesn’t do anything to improve the outlook on Indian financial assets.
NSDL data showed that so far in the current calendar year, foreign portfolio investors have net sold Rs 13,177 crore worth of Indian debt. This outstrips the Rs 10,359 crore worth of net sales in the whole of 2021.
While the NSDL data shows the trend for overall debt assets, the figures provided by the Clearing Corporation of India show the FPI sales figures for government securities.
The selling pressure in debt may be much lower than that shown by FPIs in the stock markets, but the figures are definitely not encouraging.
So far in the current calendar year, FPIs’ net investment in government securities has reduced by Rs 9,323.85 crore. For comparison, FPIs had net sold Rs 13,448.48 crore worth of Indian sovereign bonds in the previous calendar year as a whole.
Investment under the Fully Accessible Route, however, has increased by Rs 3875.66 crore so far in 2022, the CCIL data showed. The FAR, which was introduced in the Union Budget for FY21, permits full investment in specified government securities for non-resident investors without any restrictions.
THE FED BLITZ
Key factors cited by market participants ET Markets spoke to were worsening of India’s macroeconomic fundamentals and the US Fed’s plans for higher interest rates.
Higher interest rates in the world’s largest economy dim the appeal of riskier fixed-income assets in emerging markets such as India.
Over the last year, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond, a global benchmark for debt, has surged 129 basis points, reflecting the monetary tightening plans of the country’s central bank.
Source Name:- Economic Times