he month of May saw the markets continue with the momentum of April and the rally became more broadbased. Annual results season tends to create volatility around results of specific companies which is something we cannot escape, however in many cases where the longer term outlook is good any bad result creates buying opportunities. During the month the Nifty went up by around 3% and the Midcap Index went up by around 6% as I write . We also saw the Nasdaq move to new multi month highs and a majority of European Markets to new highs.
The growth outlook for India continues to be positive with the peaking of inflation and interest rates. Consumption demand has been slow due to high inflation and that was reflected in company results. However, the capital expenditure cycle continues to trend higher and that is driving the performance of companies in the capital goods, construction and infrastructure segments. As inflation subsides, we will see consumption also come back running into the festival season in the third quarter. The growth outlook for India which was running at 6-6.5% for this year has got upgraded to nearly 7% across most economists.