Indian equities missed global rally in Jan on account of domestic concerns

India, one of the best-performing markets in 2018, missed the rally in global markets in January. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has gone up 5.5 per cent and the MSCI Emerging Market (EM) Index has gained close to 10 per cent in January.

In comparison, the benchmark Nifty has lost 0.3 per cent, making it one of the worst-performing markets for the month. The rebound in global markets comes after a rout in the December quarter, amid rising global trade tensions and slowing global economic growth.

Stability in the US market and rising commodity prices have fuelled gains in global equities over the past few weeks. However, domestic concerns, including weak earnings growth, have weighed on the performance of domestic markets. Liquidity concerns following the crisis at IL&FS and media group Zee have added to the negative sentiment, particularly in the mid-cap space. Both the NSE Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices fell 5 per cent in January.