The equity markets of India are on a roll and investors are being drawn in the nest again after months of apprehension. In the last one month, the Nifty 50 and Sensex have surged more than 8 per cent on the back of the unexpected rate cuts by the RBI and the strong 3 rd quarter earnings by the IT and banking giants. In January alone, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) injected 25,000 crore and it was an indication that debt has taken a back seat to high-growth equities. Small/mid cap indices have performed better after gaining 12-15% following search by retail investors on multibaggers in areas such as renewables and infrastructure.

This turnaround is at a time when this revival of equity was against a backdrop of the uncertainty in the world markets, the US Fed freezing and geopolitical threats that had pushed risk assets to the backseat. Yet domestic tailwalls are high: the government capex is soaring to 10 lakh crore record highs, GST revenues are high at 2 lakh crore monthly highs, and the services PMI is booming at above 60. Analysts such as Motilal Oswal single out defence (HAL up 40% YTD) and EV (Tata Motors up 25%) stocks to buy. Samrat Dasgupta, head of research, HDFC Securities, says that equities are back on its radar due to its alpha potential. Having brought in the inflation to 4.5, it is now time to have a multi-year bull run and maybe Nifty hits 26,000 by mid 2026.

White Metal Pales In Demand Exorbitance.

This is unlike silver, the white metal that no longer shines. The price of MCX Silver has been falling at 5% to ₹92,000/kg in early January, contrary to the progressive increase of gold. Its demand in industries such as solar panels and electronics, which are due to reach 1.2 billion ounces of units in the globe in 2026, has not supported it. Rather, it is heavy on a supply deluge out of Mexico and Peru, as well as the economic slowdown of China to limit jewellery purchases.

Back in India, where imports of silver hit 4,000 tonnes last year, the pressure is put on by ETF outflows and poor Akshaya Tritiya demand. The double nature of silver as industry metal and safe haven is showing weakness, says Prithviraj Kothari of Augmont Gold. US yield increases will be an additional negative message of COMEX futures which would indicate that prices would fall further to $28/oz. Investors are turning their backs: the gold-silver ratios at the 90:1 are screaming about the overvaluation of the white metal.

Playbook of investors: Equity Over Silver.

In the case of savvy portfolios, equities have a lentiloop of 15-20 percent of increase as against the flat silver. Diversify through Nifty ETF or thematic funds in infra and tech. Hedge silver exposure with small 5-10 percent position, until a green energy recovery. With the changing nature of markets, equities obviously dominate the radar- do not miss the rally.