Chris Wood exits India, JPMorgan sees IT pain ahead

Fund manager Chris Wood is trimming his India portfolio to double‑down on South Korean memory makers SK Hynix and Samsung, betting AI‑driven data‑center spending will keep DRAM prices climbing. The shift frees capital for memory stocks he calls the core of the “mother of all cycles,” while he warns Indian equities face higher risk.

In June 2026, foreign portfolio investors poured $2.2 bn into Indian government bonds via the fully accessible route, accounting for 58 % of the year’s inflows and the strongest month in 15 months. The spike follows a tax‑exemption and broader eligible‑security rollout announced on June 5, boosting post‑tax returns for global investors.

JPMorgan says India's IT services will stay stuck at 2‑3% revenue growth for years as AI‑driven productivity gains are still in a deflationary phase and geopolitical headwinds curb client spend. The brokerage warns that a meaningful recovery may only arrive once AI shifts from cost‑saving to revenue‑generating, extending the sector's slowdown.

The National Stock Exchange filed its DRHP on June 17, 2026 and will list its shares on the BSE, mirroring the way BSE’s own stock trades on NSE. With only a 6% offer‑for‑sale, the IPO may trade at a discount to BSE’s valuation, sparking strong retail interest.

Asian Paints’ acquisitions in home décor, Ess Ess, Sleek Kitchens and The White Teak Company, have shown stagnant or declining revenue over the past four fiscal years, with Sleek posting a loss and The White Teak slipping below its FY23 peak. The lag highlights the difficulty of turning a paint‑dominant brand into a full‑stack home‑improvement player.

MoSPI says it will launch an index tracking unincorporated non‑agricultural enterprises, aiming to beat its 2031 deadline. The high‑frequency indicator will give quarterly or monthly snapshots of India’s informal sector, which now houses over 90 million firms and 150 million workers.

Deloitte’s State of Financial Services report warns that India’s debt market is too shallow to fund the $30‑$35 trillion economy target for 2047. It calls for broader investor participation, market‑led pricing and integration of money, bond and derivatives markets to cut reliance on bank deposits and boost long‑term capital.

RBI has issued a draft Master Direction for call, notice and term money markets, seeking stakeholder feedback by July 17. The proposal lifts borrowing caps for standalone primary dealers and widens the participant pool, aiming to deepen term‑money market liquidity and improve the link between overnight rates and longer‑term yields.

Power Finance Corp and REC have cleared a board‑level merger that will combine their loan books into a single entity with over ₹11 lakh crore of power‑sector financing. This creates India's largest NBFC in the power space, giving the government a megabank to channel funding for legacy plants and green upgrades alike.

Gold, crude oil and Bitcoin all slumped in a single session, each hitting new lows. The moves came as the U.S. dollar rallied and investors adopted a risk‑off stance, draining demand for safe‑haven and commodity hedges. Expect continued pressure if the dollar stays strong.