Retail Investors Double Down on India Stocks, Foreigners Flee Amid War Jitters

Good morning...

I’m Ashutosh Joshi in Mumbai with a quick pulse check as markets kick off a new week.

A familiar backdrop of higher oil prices and weaker Asian stocks awaits Indian traders on Monday after US President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions with Iran following the collapse of weekend peace talks. That puts the Nifty 50’s relief rally under pressure — the benchmark jumped nearly 6% last week to cap its best weekly performance since early 2021. It’s also a holiday-shortened week in India, with markets shut on Tuesday. Investors will track key inflation prints — CPI on Monday and WPI on April 14 — along with the ongoing March-quarter earnings season. Wipro, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are among key names reporting this week.

In today’s newsletter, we explain why:

But first, let’s look at the exodus of foreign investors from Indian equities.