Ahead of Budget, Mutual funds' exposure to banks, financials sees a rise

Mutual funds (MFs) saw increased investments in banking and financial stocks ahead of the Budget slated to be presented on February 1. 

The value of MF holdings in in ICICI Bank increased by Rs 2,900 crore in December. This was followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank (increase of Rs 1,320 crore), HDFC (Rs 1,290 crore) and Maruti Suzuki (Rs 1,200 crore).

Bharti Airtel was also on MFs’ radar, with value of MF holdings rising Rs 1,180 crore. Meanwhile, RIL saw the biggest cut in MF holdings, declining by Rs 1,650 crore. Others to see the biggest decline were ITC (Rs 1,050 crore), SBI (Rs 920 crore) and BPCL (Rs 610 crore), with plans for privatisation likely to get deferred.

Source: MOFSL