Tale of the Tape 

Howdy folks!

Another boring day for markets with the Nifty and Sensex barely moving as investors sat on the sidelines ahead of the RBI’s rate cut decision tomorrow. Midcaps and Smallcaps were also lifeless. The advance-decline ratio was evenly split. The only real excitement came from the rupee hitting a life-time low and gold hitting a record high.

It was also a mixed-bag kinda day for sectors. PSU Banks (+1.8%) continued to shine, followed by Metals (+1.2%). Real Estate (-0.8%) stocks saw the most selling pressure.

In today’s issue of the Daily Rip, we break down why gold has been on fire and the best way to play the theme, analyse Advance Agrolife and Fabtech Tech’s IPOs, cover the biggest newsmakers and more.

Honourable Mentions:

Coforge was up +2% after CLSA initiated coverage; the brokerage sees a whopping +48% upside from current levels. Anand Rathi closed at 445.55 p/sh; +8% from its IPO price. PS - it was the only one out of four IPO listings today to end in the green!

Check out the NSE 500 heatmap:

Commodity
“Golden” Opportunity

Gold is up ~50% YTD, easily smoking the Nifty and just about every other index. We’re all about stocks here, but the truth is that the yellow metal is a key piece of any portfolio. So here’s a quick breakdown on what’s going on and how best to play the theme.

The lowdown: Gold appreciates when there’s global uncertainty which is why it’s a ‘safe haven’ asset. This is exactly why it’s had a solid rally in 2024 and continues to zoom in 2025. Tariffs, geopolitical tensions and murky economic outlook all make people buy gold. Central banks also stock up big time to deal with currency fluctuations.

Which does better: Equities win in the long-term, but gold & silver have their years of dominance. Over the last ~25 years, Nifty has beaten both gold and silver in 12 of those years. Gold won in 7, while silver came out on top in 6. In terms of annualised returns, from 2000-2024, Nifty has given 13.2% CAGR, gold around 11.8% and silver 10.4%. But there are periods -- like the last few years -- where gold does beat the Nifty pretty handily.

How to play it?

• Gold-linked stocks: Some NBFCs track the price of gold pretty closely. For example, Muthoot Finance is up +40% YTD because higher gold prices = people giving less collateral for loans. Other companies like Vedanta are a good play on silver. PS - Emkay sees a major re-rating in Hindustan Zinc as well!

• Gold MFs: Another great option which basically invests in an ETF, which in turn invests in physical gold for you. Most of them have given 45-50% returns over the last year.

Big Picture: If you could only buy one asset, go with equities. But you would be silly not to use gold as a hedge. Data show portfolios with just ~10% gold allocation achieve better risk-adjusted returns. Also, a 50:50 portfolio of gold & Nifty outperforms standalone investments over more than two decades!

Specials
Rally In VodaIdea Share!

VodaIdea has rallied ~30% in the last month. Is it a sign of changing fortunes or just wild speculation? We break down all the latest news, industry developments and brokerage ratings in our latest video. Miss it at your own expense!