Sensex at the present levels of 31,626 trades at a price-earnings multiple of over 18.19 times one-year estimated forward earnings, a 20% premium to the long-term average multiple. (Reuters)
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have sold Indian equities worth close to $965 million in September, after offloading stocks worth nearly $2 billion in August. On Monday foreign investors sold shares worth $191.9 million, provisional data on exchanges showed. Sensex at the present levels of 31,626 trades at a price-earnings multiple of over 18.19 times one-year estimated forward earnings, a 20% premium to the long-term average multiple. Brokerages have been expressing caution the Indian market is overvalued. They have also flagged the downwards revisions to earnings estimates.
Concerns over steep valuations and poor corporate earnings for the June quarter have seen investors take risk off the table. Earnings estimates for FY18 are being trimmed with almost every sector having seen a downgrade. Net profits for the Nifty set of companies fell around 11% year-on-year in Q1FY18, disappointing the Street. The tepid growth in GDP for the June quarter, of just 5.7% year-on-year has seen economists cutting their growth forecasts for the year. Geopolitical tensions have also weighed on investor sentiment.
