As global financial markets continue to navigate geopolitical headwinds and the artificial intelligence-led mayhem, Indian investors have focused more on investing in domestic themes and safe haven assets.
A quick look at the most commonly searched investment themes on Google trends over the last one month throw up names like gold, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank.
HDFC Bank
India’s top private lender, HDFC Bank, has been on top of the searches given the buzz around the CEO succession.
The bank has now submitted the names of two candidates for managing director and chief executive officer to the Reserve Bank of India for approvals. This was after Sashidhar Jagdishan decided to retire from the post after the end of his current tenure.
Global brokerage Jefferies had termed the move “timely” and said if the appointment gets confirmed before Jagdishan’s term ends, it can abate investor concerns and the impact of uncertainty on business momentum. The shares of HDFC traded 0.8% higher today at Rs 745.10 on the National Stock Exchange. Its shares have gained over 2% in the last one month but have lost over 5% in the last three months and lost around 25% in the last one year.
State Bank of India
The largest public bank was also among the top searched names on Google over the last month. The shares of SBI are down nearly 6% in the last one month. However, brokerage house Motilal Oswal expects systemic credit growth in the sector to continue and has identified key banks which could lead this, including SBI.
Credit growth has been driven by wholesale lending, while retail credit also continued to grow at a healthy pace, as per the brokerage. “Overall, we expect growth momentum to continue for a large part of CY26, before gradually moderating to mid-teens toward the end of FY27, owing to a higher base effect,” Motilal Oswal had said in a report. The brokerage expects 14.3% growth for its banking coverage universe in FY27, which could see a further upside of 100-150 basis points if economic conditions remain supportive.
ICICI Bank
Motilal Oswal had also picked ICICI Bank in its list of key financial market plays. The share price of ICICI Bank has declined over 6% in the last one month. As the countdown for the Q2 earnings season begins, all eyes would be on how the bank fares in the quarter gone past. Asset quality and margins are likely to be in focus.
Another brokerage had highlighted the lender earlier this month. Macquarie Research had identified five operating trends that make ICICI Bank stand out among its peers. This included lower attrition, disciplined hiring, and stronger employee productivity.
GOLD
Be it rising inflation, geopolitical turmoil, increasing debts, investors have been looking at gold as a safe-haven asset. The yellow metal was among the top Google searches in India in the last month. After surging to record highs in the beginning of the year, gold has been consolidating for some months now as the war in West Asia has led to a sharp rise in crude oil prices, and the subsequent inflation fears.
With the US Federal Reserve raising the Fed funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.00% after three years and officials expecting another similar rate hike by the end of the year, gold prices are likely to be under pressure as it is a non-interest yielding asset.
“Investors may increasingly view higher long-term yields not simply as an attractive alternative to gold, but also as a potential warning signal about fiscal risk, rising debt-servicing costs and financial stability. In that environment, gold’s role as an asset outside the traditional financial system may become more important,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank said in a report on Monday.