Since 2014, domestic investors bought $28 billion net of stocks , matching overseas buyers' $30 billion inflow.Unlike China's mom-and-pop day traders, Indian households tap into the market mainly through mutual funds . Retail investors now own 85 percent of such funds invested in equities, compared with 38 percent of bond mutual funds. The S&P BSE 200 Index is trading at 24.6 times forward earnings, well above its 10-year average of 18.5 times. Few are predicting a rapid bull run from this point.Will retail investors who came late to the party have the patience, or the nerve, to buy and hold?Should they, even? Indian households will gradually grasp the beauty of real interest rates, as the nation shakes off decades of rampant inflation.

Source: Economic Times July 24, 2017 04:43 UTC