Holding of mutual funds in private lenders at a fresh high in April

The holding of mutual funds (MFs) in private banks saw its weightage increase to a new high of 19.3 per cent in April — the seventh straight month of increase. The Bank Nifty index on Monday had hit a new all-time high. 

The other top sectoral holdings for April were technology (9.1 per cent), NBFCs (8.7 per cent) and Oil & Gas (7.9 per cent), according to a report by Motilal Oswal.

Holdings in PSU banks, utilities, NBFCs, oil & gas, autos, chemicals, and infrastructure moderated during the month. Auto’s weightage reached a new low of 6.3 per cent, with its MF allocation down to the seventh position from second a year ago. Three of the top 5 stocks that saw maximum change in value — ICICI Bank (Rs 1,160 crore), Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 1,100 crore) and HDFC Bank (Rs 860 crore) — were private lenders. 

HDFC Bank saw net buying by 16 funds. 

The value of MF holdings in TCS rose the most in April (Rs 2,270 crore), aided by the 12.7 rise in the stock price. The stock saw net buying by nine of the top 20 funds.

Stocks that saw maximum decline in value were Yes Bank (Rs 27.2 billion), SBI (Rs 21.4 billion), Coal India (Rs 14.9 billion), ONGC (Rs 14.2 billion) and IOCL (Rs 11.8 billion).