After losing out big on the global AI rally, Indian equities are regaining the attention of investors seeking to weather the latest market turbulence.
With the artificial intelligence frenzy roiling benchmark gauges from Asia to the US, the NSE Nifty 50 Index is becoming a safe haven of sorts for global investors. In the first half of the year, it moved 1% or more on just about one-third of the days — less than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and barely more than the S&P 500 Index.
India’s lack of AI plays has been a hurdle most of the year as investors turned to markets like South Korea and Taiwan that delivered stellar returns. But with concerns mounting over the sustainability of that trade, interest in India is slowly coming back. In June, the Nifty 50 outperformed the MSCI Emerging Markets Index by the most since November, while foreign outflows were the smallest in four months.
“India’s calm comes down to one thing: It sits outside the AI trade,” said Maxence Visseau, chief investment officer of Arkevium Capital in Dubai. His firm is neutral on the market and uses it as a diversifier, he said. “India works as an AI hedge inside the EM complex.”
