Mutual funds make big purchase in June

They bought when markets corrected sharply

July 4 With net purchases of Rs 3,179 crore in June 2008, mutual funds have made their biggest purchases in the stock market since January this year, last month. 

The sharp fall in the equity values in June may have prompted mutual funds to indulge in ‘value buying’. In June, out of the 21 trading days, the BSE Sensex ended in the red on 14 days. 

Mutual funds have been net buyers on 16 of the 21 trading days this month. The index shed close to 21 per cent and during this period, the index PE multiple fell from 19.3 to 15.9. Mutual funds’ buying has also been evident on many days when the markets corrected sharply. 

For instance, after the June 4 correction of 447 points in the Sensex, MFs made net investments to the tune of Rs 547 crore the next day. Funds also remained net purchasers of stocks when market declined continuously for 5 trading days starting from June 18.

However, assets under management of mutual fund industry witnessed a 5.9 per cent drop in June, buckling under the pressure of the meltdown in the stock market and the slow growth in the fixed income schemes in the month. The BSE Sensex tumbled about 18 per cent from 16,415.57 to 13,802.22 in June, while the NSE’s S&P CNX Nifty crashed 17 per cent in June.

According to Association of Mutual Funds India data, the combined average assets under management of the 33 fund houses dropped to about Rs 5.65 lakh crore at the end of June compared with about Rs 6 lakh crore in May. 

FIIs have, however, been at the other side of the table, selling Rs 10,500 crore worth of stocks in June, which was the main cause for the stock to witness steep fall.