Posted On Thursday, Feb 06, 2020
February 6, 2020
Quantum Fixed Income Team
With the two big events, Budget and the monetary policy outcome through, the direction and the trajectory of the bond markets and thus bond yields seem clear.
The 10 year government bond yield had traded in a narrow band of 6.5%-6.7% in January, awaiting the outcome of these two events. Bond markets went into the budget hoping that a) the government does not announce a very large extra borrowing in FY 20; b) the government limits the fiscal deficit in FY 21 to 3.5% of GDP and c) having done so, works out some means of higher foreign participation to buy the excess government bonds on supply.
The government delivered on all 3 aspects:
a) The government increased the fiscal deficit for FY 20 to 3.8% of GDP from the budgeted 3.3% of GDP, but still did not announce any market borrowing; by resorting to higher funding from Small Savings
b) The government managed to budget the fiscal deficit for FY 21 at 3.5% of GDP; by announcing that they will increase disinvestments to INR 2 lakh crore, by selling stakes in BPCL, Air India and launching a IPO for LIC (Life Insurance Corporation)
c) The Government also announced issuance of special government securities, which will not have any upper cap on foreign participation, hoping that such a move would allow Indian government bonds to be included in global bond indices. This if it happens, it will be a big move and would make global funds which track these bond indices to invest in those Indian bonds., and thus reducing the demand from local / domestic sources.
The Bond market reacted positively to the above and the 10 year government bond yield moved down by 10bps (0.1%) post the budget.
The next outcome was from the RBI monetary policy. The markets were expecting the RBI to keep the Repo Rate unchanged at 5.15%, given the increase in near term inflation, but the bond market was hoping for other measures to support the bond market and aid in monetary transmission (such that) the benefit of the lower Repo Rate is also passed on to lower bank lending rates.
The RBI announced that they would begin a Long Term Repo Operations, of INR 1 lakh crore (1 trillion), of 1 and 3 year tenor. This is a big move as this ensures that banks can access 3 year funds at the current Repo Rate of 5.15% and use it to either buy government bonds, corporate bonds or lend to companies. Not only, does this move assure the market of funds at lower rate for a confirmed period, it should also trigger a fall in short term bond yields and short term lending rates from banks.
This move, we believe can have a bigger impact in monetary transmission than rate cuts. Anyways, with the CPI inflation trajectory, we do not expect the RBI to cut the Repo Rate anytime soon. So, the RBI also has chosen to focus on trying to get lending rates lower, and the above move is a step towards that.
We continue to hold a neutral view on the bond markets and as we have mentioned before, with 10 year bond yields around 6.5%%, we still do not see any structural investment play in bond funds. Developments on the inflation front and oil prices will determine whether long term bond yields drop further or have seen the best in the bond markets.
Given the excess liquidity situation, which we expect to continue, returns from overnight and liquid funds will remain muted.
As always, investors in bond fund should prioritize safety and liquidity over returns and should invest in bond funds only with a long term time horizon and keeping in mind that in the short term returns from bond funds may be volatile and may also be negative.
Data Source: Bloomberg, RBI
The views expressed here in this article / video are for general information and reading purpose only and do not constitute any guidelines and recommendations on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Quantum AMC / Quantum Mutual Fund is not guaranteeing / offering / communicating any indicative yield on investments made in the scheme(s). The views are not meant to serve as a professional guide / investment advice / intended to be an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial product or instrument or mutual fund units for the reader. The article has been prepared on the basis of publicly available information, internally developed data and other sources believed to be reliable. Whilst no action has been solicited based upon the information provided herein, due care has been taken to ensure that the facts are accurate and views given are fair and reasonable as on date. Readers of this article should rely on information/data arising out of their own investigations and advised to seek independent professional advice and arrive at an informed decision before making any investments.
Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks read all scheme related documents carefully.
Please visit – www.quantumamc.com/disclaimer to read scheme specific risk factors. Investors in the Scheme(s) are not being offered a guaranteed or assured rate of return and there can be no assurance that the schemes objective will be achieved and the NAV of the scheme(s) may go up and down depending upon the factors and forces affecting securities market. Investment in mutual fund units involves investment risk such as trading volumes, settlement risk, liquidity risk, default risk including possible loss of capital. Past performance of the sponsor / AMC / Mutual Fund does not indicate the future performance of the Scheme(s). Statutory Details: Quantum Mutual Fund (the Fund) has been constituted as a Trust under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. Sponsor: Quantum Advisors Private Limited. (liability of Sponsor limited to Rs. 1,00,000/-) Trustee: Quantum Trustee Company Private Limited. Investment Manager: Quantum Asset Management Company Private Limited. The Sponsor, Trustee and Investment Manager are incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956.
Posted On Friday, Oct 04, 2024
In September, the standout event was the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) initiating an easing cycle with a significant 50 basis points (bps) rate cut.
Read MorePosted On Thursday, Sep 05, 2024
The Indian bond market remained relatively stable in August 2024.
Read MorePosted On Friday, Aug 09, 2024
The bond market maintained its positive momentum in July supported by increased foreign buying, a fiscally prudent budget and softer global backdrop.
Read MoreGet In Touch
Take small steps in your financial planning to achieve big dreams! Start your investment journey today!