Analysts bet on defensive sectors amid rising inflation concerns

India's retail inflation, according to data released this Friday, surged to a three-month high of 5.03 per cent in February, as against 4.06 per cent in the previous month

Rising bond yields have created a flutter in global markets with investors tweaking their investment strategy and seeking safe-haven plays.

The story back home has not been any different with the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 indices slipping around 3 per cent each from their respective 52-week high levels. Besides cues from the global markets, the Indian markets have had to deal with inflation concerns amid rising commodity prices.

Over the past few weeks, inflation expectations have risen sharply, given the large-scale monetary and fiscal stimulus by global central banks amid ongoing vaccination efforts. Historically, mild-to-moderate inflation has been