India’s largest institutional investor, Life Insurance Corporation of India ( LIC), rebalanced its Rs 15 lakh crore equity portfolio in the March quarter, placing bigger bets on Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, SBI and Patanjali Foods, while trimming exposure to ICICI Bank, Infosys, TCS and the Bajaj twins.
New data from Prime Database shows LIC increased stakes in 81 NSE-listed companies and reduced holdings in 82 as the PSU insurer’s equity portfolio fell 0.73% to Rs 15.17 lakh crore as on March-end.
The biggest addition during the quarter came in Reliance Industries ( RIL), where LIC bought 2.95 crore shares, investing around Rs 3,690 crore, according to the data. Other major purchases included Larsen & Toubro (Rs 2,978 crore), Asian Paints (Rs 2,472 crore), HUL (Rs 2,350 crore) and Bajaj Auto (Rs 1,948 crore).
LIC also raised its holding in Tata Motors, buying 2.23 crore shares worth Rs 1,570 crore, despite an 8.9% fall in the stock. In Patanjali Foods, the insurer increased its stake by 2.5 percentage points, the highest rise in percentage terms, adding shares worth Rs 1,631 crore.
On the other hand, ICICI Bank saw the largest net sell, with LIC offloading Rs 2,006 crore worth of shares, even as the stock gained 5.2%. Among IT names, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro saw combined selling of over Rs 4,460 crore, amid double-digit declines in share prices during the quarter.
Also read | FIIs raise stakes in 12 smallcap multibagger stocks: Are you watching what smart money is buying?
Notably, LIC also cut stakes in Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv, despite strong quarterly gains of over 30% and 28% respectively. The insurer booked profits to the tune of Rs 659 crore between the two.
At a sector level, LIC increased its exposure to commodities, energy and financial services. In contrast, its IT portfolio shrank by nearly Rs 35,000 crore, largely due to both selling and market-led value erosion. FMCG holdings also saw a reduction of Rs 5,435 crore.
Smaller firms like Tata Chemicals, CESC, and Granules India saw increases in LIC's stake by more than 1 percentage point. Meanwhile, holdings in South Indian Bank, Engineers India, and Shipping Corporation were significantly reduced.
LIC's latest portfolio shuffle could have been driven by valuation resets, sectoral rotations, as well as internal portfolio balancing ahead of FY26.
What should investors do?
After clocking a nearly 10% gain over the past two months, Indian equities appear set to extend their rally into May. According to PL Research, the Nifty is currently trading at a 7.5% discount to its 15-year average price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9x, offering scope for further upside. The brokerage has set a 12-month base case target of 25,521, with a bull case of 27,590 and bear case of 24,831.
As largecap valuations ease into more palatable territory, analysts expect ‘quality’ names—monopolies, market leaders, and domestic-facing stocks—to outperform in the near term.
Also read | Retail pain rises as smallcap stocks miss the bluechip party: Is the undercurrent turning bearish?
“We believe the market needs to sail through another couple of months smoothly before entering into a concrete direction of growth,” said Neeraj Chadawar of Axis Securities. “As a result, we expect near-term consolidation in the market, with breadth likely to remain narrow. Hence, our focus will remain on style and sector rotation along with earnings recovery. Going forward, we continue to believe that positioning in the Indian market will likely be divided between domestic-facing and export-facing sectors.”
The rally has also been aided by strong inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), making it difficult to call a top or bottom with conviction.
“Rather than going all in, figure out what you want to invest in and then keep investing in it systematically over the next two to three months,” said Abhay Agarwal of Piper Serica. “So, yes, we are definitely looking at this as a buy-on-dips market rather than a sell-on-rise one.”
With momentum intact and macro headwinds relatively subdued, market watchers suggest sticking with high-conviction themes and rotating smartly between sectors as the earnings season plays out.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
New data from Prime Database shows LIC increased stakes in 81 NSE-listed companies and reduced holdings in 82 as the PSU insurer’s equity portfolio fell 0.73% to Rs 15.17 lakh crore as on March-end.
The biggest addition during the quarter came in Reliance Industries ( RIL), where LIC bought 2.95 crore shares, investing around Rs 3,690 crore, according to the data. Other major purchases included Larsen & Toubro (Rs 2,978 crore), Asian Paints (Rs 2,472 crore), HUL (Rs 2,350 crore) and Bajaj Auto (Rs 1,948 crore).
LIC also raised its holding in Tata Motors, buying 2.23 crore shares worth Rs 1,570 crore, despite an 8.9% fall in the stock. In Patanjali Foods, the insurer increased its stake by 2.5 percentage points, the highest rise in percentage terms, adding shares worth Rs 1,631 crore.
On the other hand, ICICI Bank saw the largest net sell, with LIC offloading Rs 2,006 crore worth of shares, even as the stock gained 5.2%. Among IT names, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro saw combined selling of over Rs 4,460 crore, amid double-digit declines in share prices during the quarter.
Also read | FIIs raise stakes in 12 smallcap multibagger stocks: Are you watching what smart money is buying?
Notably, LIC also cut stakes in Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv, despite strong quarterly gains of over 30% and 28% respectively. The insurer booked profits to the tune of Rs 659 crore between the two.
At a sector level, LIC increased its exposure to commodities, energy and financial services. In contrast, its IT portfolio shrank by nearly Rs 35,000 crore, largely due to both selling and market-led value erosion. FMCG holdings also saw a reduction of Rs 5,435 crore.
Smaller firms like Tata Chemicals, CESC, and Granules India saw increases in LIC's stake by more than 1 percentage point. Meanwhile, holdings in South Indian Bank, Engineers India, and Shipping Corporation were significantly reduced.
LIC's latest portfolio shuffle could have been driven by valuation resets, sectoral rotations, as well as internal portfolio balancing ahead of FY26.
What should investors do?
After clocking a nearly 10% gain over the past two months, Indian equities appear set to extend their rally into May. According to PL Research, the Nifty is currently trading at a 7.5% discount to its 15-year average price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9x, offering scope for further upside. The brokerage has set a 12-month base case target of 25,521, with a bull case of 27,590 and bear case of 24,831.
As largecap valuations ease into more palatable territory, analysts expect ‘quality’ names—monopolies, market leaders, and domestic-facing stocks—to outperform in the near term.
Also read | Retail pain rises as smallcap stocks miss the bluechip party: Is the undercurrent turning bearish?
“We believe the market needs to sail through another couple of months smoothly before entering into a concrete direction of growth,” said Neeraj Chadawar of Axis Securities. “As a result, we expect near-term consolidation in the market, with breadth likely to remain narrow. Hence, our focus will remain on style and sector rotation along with earnings recovery. Going forward, we continue to believe that positioning in the Indian market will likely be divided between domestic-facing and export-facing sectors.”
The rally has also been aided by strong inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), making it difficult to call a top or bottom with conviction.
“Rather than going all in, figure out what you want to invest in and then keep investing in it systematically over the next two to three months,” said Abhay Agarwal of Piper Serica. “So, yes, we are definitely looking at this as a buy-on-dips market rather than a sell-on-rise one.”
With momentum intact and macro headwinds relatively subdued, market watchers suggest sticking with high-conviction themes and rotating smartly between sectors as the earnings season plays out.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
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