Nearly all of the mutual funds, amid the run-up in equities to a new peak, which is still continuing, despite the wrath in the broader market, have bought small-cap consumer durable major Whirlpool of India. A report by ICICI Direct shows the stock was listed in 8 out of 10 mutual funds’ top buy list last month. The two asset management companies, not including the household appliance companies, are Axis AMC and Kotak Mahindra AMC.

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The buy in the stock was triggered as the stock hit its 52-week low after a stake sale in the Indian arm on February 27, and the company’s CEO remarked that there were no plans to exit the Indian market, but the stake sale was amid high valuations.

Across AMCs, 3 of the Tata Group stocks, namely Tata Power and Trent in large caps were sold by mutual funds in February, while Tata Technologies from the mid-cap club is another Tata Group company, in which fund houses decreased their positions last month.

Furthermore, looking at the potential and near-term woes priced in, mutual funds have continued to retain and add on to their holdings in Nifty heavyweight HDFC Bank. Almost all of the top AMCs under the study held the counter as its top 10 holdings, according to the research report. 

SBI AMC topped in terms of value of the stock with a holding of HDFC Bank worth Rs 51248 crore. During the month under review, the fund house bought an additional 34 lakh shares, or 1 per cent equity, in the entity.

Besides, amid the RBI’s crackdown on payment services firm Paytm- the company run by One97 Communications- emerged in the top sell list within the mid-cap segment. The mutual funds now hold a combined 3.53 crore shares in the entity valued at Rs 1426 crore.