Market Watch: Mutual Funds' Top Buys and Sells

Summary:

At present, mutual funds in India wield significant influence on the equity markets. The Indian stock market has performed well over the past year, with the Nifty 50 index gaining around 10% since last Diwali. This article aims to give a brief outline of the top stocks that were bought and sold by mutual funds from April to September of 2023.

Introduction to mutual funds’ buys and sells:

With the end of 2023 approaching, let’s take a look at how the markets performed over the past six months. The Nifty 50 index even reached a record high, crossing 20,000 points during this period. Also, mid-cap and small-cap indices, which represent smaller companies, outperformed the broader market, demonstrating strong growth potential in their sectors.

In this blog, we will look at the activities pertaining to mutual funds (MF) – their buying and selling of stocks in the last six months. Read on to know about the top stocks bought by mutual funds, and the ones sold in each month and what market forces influenced these trades.

April 2023 – stocks bought and sold by mutual funds:

The data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) indicated a drop in the month-to-month net inflows for equity mutual funds. Despite the volatility in April, some stocks did better than the previous month. Zomato Ltd, Bandhan Bank and BHEL are some of the stocks that performed better than what they did in the previous month. Here are the most bought stocks bought by MF and most sold in April.

Top five large-cap stocks bought and sold:

May 2023 – stocks bought and sold by mutual funds: 

May continued to see large-cap stocks such as Adani Total Gas, Nykaa, Tata Elxsi, Indus Towers, HDFC Life Insurance and JSW Steel in the portfolios of various mutual funds in India. However, mutual funds actively bought into mid-cap stocks during this month. Mid-cap stocks such as Vedant Fashions and Vodafone Idea Ltd did really well. Let’s look at the 5 top mid-cap stocks that were bought and sold by mutual funds in May.

Top five mid-cap stocks bought and sold:

June 2023 – stocks bought and sold by mutual funds:

Reports show that investors allocated more investments in small-cap stocks in June, followed by mid-cap stocks as inflows in equity in MF increased by almost double. While the focus shifted from large-cap stocks, there were still some notable additions in the segment. Coal India and HUL were among the large-cap stocks that mutual funds bought, along with Sun Pharma, Tata Consumer and Reliance Industries. However, there was a reduction in holdings of certain stocks compared to the previous months. The following is a list of the top small-cap stocks bought and sold by mutual funds.

Top five small-cap stocks bought and sold:

July 2023 – stocks bought and sold by mutual funds:

The inflows of equity continued into July and mid-cap and small-cap stocks continued to see investors adding them to their profiles. Large-cap stocks experienced net outflows due to their recent strong performance, offering investors a favourable opportunity for profit booking. Let’s take a look at the large-cap stocks.

Top five large-cap stocks bought and sold:

August 2023 – stocks bought and sold by mutual funds:

August saw two Adani group stocks among the large-cap top buys. Mutual funds increased their holdings in mid-cap stocks such as ACC, Coforge, Suzlon Energy Ltd and Federal Bank in August. AMFI data shows that inflow into Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) reached a record high.

September 2023 – stocks bought and sold by mutual funds:

In September, mutual funds favoured sectors such as telecommunications, consumer discretionary, financial services, information technology (IT) and commodities. Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) reached a consecutive record high, beating the record set in August. Below is the list of the top stocks bought by MF and the top sells. 

Summing up:

Due to the inherent volatility of the stock market, investors should exercise caution and carefully evaluate the investment objectives and risks before making any decisions. Seeking professional advice can be beneficial in navigating the complexities of the market and for making informed choices. This becomes all the more useful when investors try to find information for such as the stocks bought by mutual funds today.