HDFC Bank, PB Fintech shares removed from Jefferies long-only portfolio; MCX, Lenskart in

Jefferies, in its latest GREED & Fear note, made several changes to its India long-only portfolio. The biggest among them were the removal of India's most-valued lender, HDFC Bank, and PB Fintech, the parent of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar. In their place, the foreign brokerage added MCX and Lenskart Solutions. Bajaj Finance will also be introduced, replacing REC.

Further, the allocation to Eternal has been raised by one percentage point, funded by a reduction in Bharti Airtel, Reuters reported. 
 
The fresh changes come as Jefferies sees improvement in India's market outlook. It cited bank credit growth that reached its fastest pace in more than a decade, in addition to foreign equity inflows ​return and central bank measures that are supporting the rupee.

"There are some ‌positives to be aware of as regards the Indian domestic story," Christopher Wood, Jefferies' global head of equity strategy, Reuters reported Jefferies as saying in his latest GREED & fear note published on ​Friday.

The more important signal is the acceleration in domestic lending, which has ‌climbed ⁠to 17–18 per cent year-on-year (YoY), led by corporate lending of about 20 per cent. Loans to agriculture and retail borrowers are also expanding at healthy rates, underscoring broad-based demand, Reuters reported Jefferies as saying.

Jefferies expects inflows ​to reach $80 billion–$100 billion by the September 30 deadline