India’s Small Investors Dump Stocks, Chase New Listings

India’s Small Investors Dump Stocks, Chase New Listings Good morning... I’m Rajesh Mascarenhas in Mumbai, where stock traders will be hoping to finish the week on a high. The benchmark Nifty 50 capped its best day in two weeks on Thursday. As disappointing earnings from some of the world’s biggest technology companies weigh on the global AI trade, India’s stock market, widely seen as an anti-AI play, may be starting to attract renewed interest from foreign funds. Meanwhile, small investors in India have turned cautious after September’s selloff, as we write in the Markets Buzz section. That’s even as enthusiasm for IPOs and new listings remains strong, with Jio Platforms’ blockbuster debut likely to encourage other large firms to speed up their offerings (more on that below). Jio Platforms, its parent Reliance Industries and drugmaker Sun Pharma are among companies due to report results on Friday. Shares of Asian Paints and Trent will be in focus after their earnings missed analysts’ estimates. Those of India’s largest airline, IndiGo, will also be watched after it posted a loss for the third straight quarter amid a surge in fuel costs. In today’s newsletter, we also write about: Retail investors are showing signs of caution. Individuals and proprietary traders sold more than 70 billion rupees of shares this month through Oct. 26, ahead of Jio’s bumper listing, putting them on course for the biggest monthly withdrawal since February, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Risk appetite is also fading in more speculative corners of the market. Leveraged stock positions have fallen below 1.5 trillion rupees, down more than 5% from September, according to IndiaMTF.com, amid a selloff in smaller shares. The trends suggest investors are getting choosier — cutting back on leveraged and secondary-market bets even as enthusiasm remains strong for marquee new listings.