Outlook brightens for India

Article Excerpt

ISHARES INDIA 50 ETF $36.07 (Nasdaq symbol INDY; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an ETF that tracks the Nifty 50 index—the 50 largest, most liquid Indian securities. It began trading in November 2009. The fund’s top holdings are HDFC Bank, 9.4%; Reliance Industries (conglomerate), 7.8%; Housing Development Finance, 6.7%; ITC (conglomerate), 5.5%; ICICI Bank, 5.0%; Infosys (information technology), 5.0%; Larsen & Toubro (conglomerate), 3.7%; and Tata Consultancy (information technology), 3.3%. The fund has a 0.93% expense ratio. This ETF now trades at all-time highs. Stateelection wins by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party have raised hopes that he can push through much-needed economic and political reforms. In July 2017, he successfully introduced a goods and services tax (GST). The Indian economy’s long-term outlook remains positive. In fact, the economy could grow by as much as 6.7% this year, and over 7.4% next year. iShares India 50 ETF is a buy. buy…