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Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Global equity markets remain firm, supported by strong momentum in US futures, which have been hovering near record highs. However, market participants are increasingly cautious about the narrow breadth of the rally, which is being powered by a limited set of large-cap stocks rather than a broad-based participation across sectors.

Speaking to ET Now, Anurag Singh, Managing Partner, Ansid Capital noted that while headline indices such as the S&P 500 are scaling new highs and levels around 7400–7500 appear impressive, the underlying structure of the market tells a more complex story. He pointed out that the current rally is unusually concentrated, with a small group of mega-cap stocks dominating overall performance. He said, “Everybody sees 7400–7500 on the S&P and all-time highs, which is great. But the market is extremely concentrated.”

He further highlighted that this level of concentration in top stocks is historically unusual and raises structural concerns for investors looking beyond index levels. According to him, sector participation remains uneven, with weakness visible in areas such as healthcare and discretionary consumption. He remarked, “In no time in American market history has the market been as concentrated in the top 10 stocks.” He also added that broader segments of the market have been under pressure, saying, “Healthcare is weak, discretionary is weak. Even retail like Walmart has corrected.”

Singh described the current environment as a “tale of two markets,” where index performance is masking underlying divergence. He cautioned that such heavy reliance on a handful of stocks is not a sustainable portfolio construct over the long term. “Beyond a point, 40–50% in 10 stocks is not a portfolio,” he said. Despite these concerns, he remained cautiously optimistic on overall index levels, suggesting that earnings support justifies current valuations. “S&P at 7200–7300 looks fair based on earnings,” he noted, while adding that the market still lacks a clear, broad-based headwind.

On global fund flows, Singh observed that capital allocation across markets has become increasingly momentum-driven rather than valuation-driven. He said investors are largely chasing performance, with flows rotating into markets like Korea, Taiwan, and the US, which are currently showing strong momentum. In contrast, he noted that India has temporarily lost favour in global allocation trends. “Nobody knows where flows go. Everyone is chasing momentum,” he said. He also pointed out a shift in domestic investor behaviour, where large-cap stocks are seeing relatively lower participation compared to mid- and small-cap segments, stating, “Nobody is buying largecaps; everyone is in mid and smallcaps.”

He added that liquidity continues to play a major role in supporting markets globally, with momentum itself attracting further flows. According to him, “Momentum is in Korea, Taiwan, US. India is out of flavour for now.” Singh also remarked on the muted urgency around foreign institutional investor flows in India, suggesting that policy attention has not been strong enough in recent months.
On the inflation outlook, Singh drew a clear distinction between India and developed economies. He said India’s inflation is largely supply-driven, primarily influenced by oil and import-related pressures, rather than domestic demand conditions. “India does not have demand inflation, mostly supply-led due to oil,” he said, adding that the situation remains relatively manageable.For the United States, he argued that inflation risks are less severe than in previous cycles, supported by stable wage growth and structural changes in the labour market. He noted that wage pressures remain contained, stating, “Wages are below 3.8%, so pressure is limited.” He also highlighted the role of artificial intelligence and labour participation trends in keeping inflation subdued, saying, “AI and labour participation are keeping wage inflation contained.”

He further observed that central banks are now focusing more on core inflation, which remains relatively stable, reducing the urgency for aggressive policy tightening. Concluding his view, Singh said that while regions like the UK and Europe continue to struggle with persistent inflation challenges, India remains largely stable. “India is fine. UK and Europe still have inflation problems,” he said.

Overall, the commentary suggests that while global equity markets continue to benefit from strong momentum, especially in the United States, the underlying structure remains uneven, with concentration risks, shifting global flows, and divergent inflation trends shaping the broader market narrative.

Shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) gained as much as 4% to hit an intraday high of Rs 813 on the BSE on Monday, extending gains for a second consecutive session and rising 6% over the period.

Last week, the state-owned company announced a 1:1 bonus issue along with its Q4 results. Under the bonus issue, the insurer will allot one fully paid-up equity share of Rs 10 each for every existing fully paid-up equity share of Rs 10 each held by shareholders. The company has fixed May 29 as the record date to determine shareholder eligibility for the bonus issue.

LIC reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 23,467 crore for the fourth quarter of FY26, up 23% year-on-year (YoY) from Rs 19,039 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year. Net premium income for the quarter rose 12% to Rs 1.65 lakh crore, compared with Rs 1.48 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

For the full financial year ended March 31, 2026, the insurer reported over 5% growth in assets under management to Rs 57.29 lakh crore, while net profit increased more than 19% YoY to Rs 57,419 crore.

It also announced a 1:1 bonus. Under the bonus issue, the insurer will allot one fully paid-up equity share of Rs 10 each for every existing fully paid-up equity share of Rs 10 each held by shareholders. The company has fixed May 29 as the record date to determine shareholder eligibility for the bonus issue.

LIC shares: Buy, sell or hold?

Citigroup maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on LIC with a target price of Rs 1,475 per share, an upside potential of more than 81% from the stock’s previous closing price of Rs 813 on the BSE. According to Citi, the improvement in numbers was driven by a better non-par product mix and favourable yield curve benefits in the fast-growing non-par business. The brokerage also noted that management highlighted initiatives to improve persistency, boost product innovation, enhance agent productivity, expand the agent network, and increase contributions from non-agency distribution channels.
Citi added that LIC’s valuation remains attractive, with projected FY27 core embedded value, excluding mark-to-market embedded value, exceeding the company’s current market capitalisation. However, it said uncertainty around the promoter-holding structure continues to weigh on the stock.Bernstein retained a ‘Market Perform’ rating with a target price of Rs 900 per share, implying an upside potential of over 11%. The brokerage said LIC reported healthy revenue growth during the quarter, with new sales rising 22% in Q4 and 18% year-on-year in FY26, led by strong growth in non-par products. Bernstein added that margins continued to improve through FY26 due to a favourable shift in product mix and supportive yield curve movements.
The brokerage also said LIC’s management expects margins to gradually converge with private-sector peers over the medium term, although the transition is likely to take time.

JM Financial maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on LIC and raised its target price to Rs 960 per share, implying an upside of 18%. The brokerage said it had upgraded the stock after Q1FY26, expecting a rerating in the second half of the year.

According to JM Financial, LIC’s diversifying product mix and improving margins strengthen growth resilience. It noted that the stock remained range-bound as weak equity markets kept embedded value below September 2024 levels.

However, the brokerage expects embedded value growth to improve as macroeconomic conditions stabilise, supported by improving business growth, an unwind of over 9%, and VNB at 2% of opening embedded value. JM Financial also upgraded its earnings estimates for the insurer.

The stock has gained 2% over the past month but is down 7% over the last six months. The company’s market capitalisation currently stands at Rs 5.27 lakh crore.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

In a claim that will resonate with thousands of school-leavers wading through a torrent of rejection emails this summer, the skills minister has declared that securing a coveted apprenticeship in Britain has become harder than winning a place at Oxford or Cambridge.

Baroness Smith of Malvern, the former Commons home secretary turned Strictly Come Dancing contestant who now holds the skills brief at the Department for Education, told The Sun on Sunday that young people the length of the country were “queuing up” for apprenticeships, with employers spoilt for choice. Her remarks landed as Whitehall figures laid bare a deepening youth labour crunch: roughly one million people aged between 16 and 24 are now classed as Neets – not in education, employment or training.

The numbers behind the soundbite

The arithmetic appears, on the face of it, to back her up. Cambridge received 22,820 applications for the 2025 intake and offered 3,716 places, an acceptance rate of 16.3 per cent. Oxford was tighter still, admitting just 3,245 of 23,061 hopefuls, 14.1 per cent. By comparison, several blue-chip apprenticeship schemes, especially degree-level engineering programmes, routinely attract north of 150 applications per slot, eclipsing the odds at the dreaming spires.

According to the latest Department for Education apprenticeship statistics, there were 353,500 apprenticeship starts in England in the 2024-25 academic year and 761,500 people participating overall, with higher-level apprenticeships up more than 15 per cent year-on-year. Business, administration and law remains the largest single subject area.

To unblock the bottleneck, Lady Smith pledged £600 million of new funding to bankroll 60,000 additional apprentices, part of a broader push to plug skills gaps in construction, engineering and digital roles. “It can sometimes be easier getting into Oxford or Cambridge than it can be getting an apprenticeship,” she said, adding: “Sometimes people say, ‘Young people don’t want to work in the construction industry’, but they really do… they are queuing up.”

Why employers are hesitating

The pledge nonetheless lands awkwardly for the small and medium-sized businesses that have historically done the heavy lifting on apprentice intake. Industry data suggest just one in five construction SMEs is planning to take on an apprentice this year, and employers’ groups argue that the Chancellor’s autumn measures, chiefly the rise in employer National Insurance contributions from 13.8 to 15 per cent in Rachel Reeves’s first Budget, have left many smaller firms re-running the numbers on every new hire.

The minimum wage settlement that took effect in April only sharpened the squeeze. The apprentice rate climbed 6 per cent to £8 an hour; the 18-to-20 band rose 8.5 per cent to £10.85; and the National Living Wage for over-21s reached £12.71. As Business Matters has previously reported, the combined effect has been to push employer costs for low-paid staff up by more than £2,100 per employee, a sum that, for owner-managers in hospitality, retail and care, has made hiring under-25s, in the words of one trade body, “unaffordable” without external support.

A political squeeze tightens

The minister’s timing reflects a Treasury under mounting pressure to demonstrate that ministers can convert announcement into appointment. The latest Office for National Statistics NEET bulletin put the share of 16-to-24-year-olds out of work and study at 12.8 per cent, equivalent to 957,000 young people, with the next release due at the end of May.

Industry watchers will be looking for evidence that the policy mix is starting to shift the dial. With youth unemployment hovering near an 11-year high and employers warning that wage and tax bills are leaving little headroom to expand junior intake, the £600 million pledge will need to translate into hard cash on the ground, not merely a press notice, if Westminster is to ease the bottleneck that, on the minister’s own admission, is leaving Britain’s school-leavers fighting harder for an apprenticeship than for a place at the country’s most selective universities.

For SMEs, the calculation is unchanged: the talent is willing, and arguably abundant. The question is whether the policy framework finally makes saying yes affordable.

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This article was written by

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of CURLF either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.