- Jefferies has increased weighting in India to 12%, favouring it over other Asia Pacific markets
- Jefferies dropped HDFC Bank, PolicyBazaar, REC Limited from its India equity portfolio
- MCX, Lenskart, and Bajaj Finance were added to the portfolio replacing the dropped stocks
Foreign investors have kept Indian equities at arm's length for most of 2026, with year-to-date outflows but things are turning. Global brokerages have watched closely to see whether that selling pressure would ease, and July offered the first real sign of a turn, with foreign portfolios turning net buyers again after months on the sidelines.
It is against this backdrop that Jefferies' Greed & Fear note carries added weight for Indian markets this week. Christopher Wood's Greed & fear has made its latest round of changes to its India long-only equity portfolio, dropping three names and bringing in three others as Jefferies leans further into the domestic growth story.
Wood's Portfolio: What's Out
HDFC Bank and PolicyBazaar have been removed from the portfolio. REC Limited also exits, with Wood noting the stock has still delivered a 228% return in rupee terms since it was added in December 2022, a reminder that an exit does not necessarily reflect a negative view on the stock itself, but a reallocation of conviction.
Jefferies portfolio has seen three stock dropped, three new picked.
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Wood's Portfolio: What's In
Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) and eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions replace HDFC Bank and PolicyBazaar. Jefferies' India research team, led by Prakhar Sharma, has just published a note on MCX flagging product and penetration opportunities as reasons to stay positive on the stock.
Bajaj Finance replaces REC Limited. Wood points out this is not the fund's first stint with the NBFC. Bajaj Finance was removed from the portfolio in January 2024 and is up 49% since, while an earlier holding period between May 2015 and March 2020 saw the stock appreciate by 551%.
Elsewhere, Eternal's (formerly Zomato) weighting rises by one percentage point, funded by trimming Bharti Airtel.
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India Preferred Bet In Asia
The reshuffle comes as Wood continues to position India as his preferred market within Asia Pacific ex-Japan, running a 12% weighting against a benchmark weight of 11.4%, a modest but deliberate overweight.
The conviction is backed by hard data. Bank credit growth has accelerated to a 17-18% range, the fastest pace in more than a decade, with corporate lending running at 20% year-on-year, ahead of agriculture loans at 17% and retail loans at 16%. Foreign investors turned net buyers of Indian equities in July, adding $2.45 billion, even as year-to-date outflows remain a steep $25.4 billion. On the debt side, foreign inflows into Indian government bonds have hit $8.7 billion since ownership was made tax-free in June, while a separate RBI scheme to attract NRI dollar deposits has pulled in $41 billion and is expected to double by September.
The rupee, having bottomed at 96.96 to the dollar in May, has since recovered to 95.17, adding to the case that the currency backdrop is turning more supportive just as Wood adds to his India conviction.
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