Jefferies strategist Christopher Wood has made significant changes to his India long-only portfolio, removing HDFC Bank and PB Fintech while adding Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) and Lenskart Solutions, according to the latest GREED & fear note.
Wood also replaced REC with Bajaj Finance and adjusted allocations for several other holdings. The portfolio is benchmarked against the MSCI India index.
MCX, Lenskart And Bajaj Finance Enter Portfolio
MCX, Lenskart and Bajaj Finance have been added with a 4% weight each. Meanwhile, Wood increased Eternal’s allocation by one percentage point to 5% and reduced Bharti Airtel’s weight by one percentage point to 4%.
The financial sector remains the largest allocation in the portfolio, accounting for 26% of total holdings. SBI Life Insurance, Adani Ports and GMR Airports continue to have the highest individual allocations at 6% each.
Other major portfolio holdings include ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Capital, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, JSW Energy, Adani Energy Solutions, DLF, Lodha Developers, IndiGo and TVS Motor.
The reshuffle comes as foreign investors have returned to Indian equities after four consecutive months of selling.
Wood estimated net foreign purchases in July at $2.45 billion, attributing the reversal partly to investors reducing exposure to crowded artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related trades.
Domestic Growth, Credit Expansion Support India Outlook
Wood highlighted strong domestic demand and improving credit growth as key factors supporting the Indian market outlook. According to RBI data, bank credit growth stood at 17.7% year-on-year in the fortnight ended July 15, although it moderated from 18.6% in the previous fortnight.
The strategist noted that corporate lending growth was around 20%, ahead of agriculture and retail credit growth. He also pointed to continued strength in automobile and real estate demand.
Wood said measures to attract overseas capital could help stabilise the rupee. He highlighted the RBI’s special window for new three-to-five-year foreign currency non-resident (FCNR-B) deposits, under which the central bank absorbs banks’ currency hedging costs and provides regulatory support.
