Sharp rise in domestic equities brings India at par with EM peers

Latest rally brings 6-month performance of domestic equities at par with global peers

The sharp rise in domestic equities has helped India play catch-up with emerging market (EM) peers. The six-month return of the benchmark Nifty is now at par with the MSCI EM and MSCI Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) indices. 

The index of 50 blue-chip companies has rallied 7 per cent from 2019 lows, amid strong buying by global funds. Between last August and February this year, India was a major underperformer in the MSCI EM universe. 

Global headwinds and slowing growth weighed on all the markets. However, India’s woes got compounded due to domestic factors such as a liquidity crisis in the non-banking