Gold’s 9% surge drives investors towards cash and debt securities: Report

New Delhi, August 19, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)

Gold prices surged more than 9 per cent in August, delivering returns nearly five times higher than broader equity markets, but investors largely shifted the gains into safer assets instead of increasing their exposure to precious metals, according to a report by Vallum Capital.

The report said inflows into precious metal funds fell from Rs 8,680 crore in June to Rs 4,084 crore in July. At the same time, money market funds saw inflows of Rs 1,40,390 crore in July, reversing Rs 65,530 crore of outflows recorded in the previous month.

The immediate trigger for the gold rally was a US jobs report that came in significantly weaker than expected, temporarily easing concerns over another interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve, the report said.

Fixed-income investments also witnessed a sharp reversal, moving from Rs 53,006 crore of outflows in June to Rs 5,947 crore of inflows in July, marking a monthly swing of nearly Rs 58,954 crore.

Within the Indian market, the auto and transport sectors recorded strong performances, supported by the country’s first-ever 4-lakh passenger vehicle sales milestone in July.

Technology stocks also recovered sharply as global investors shifted from Korean semiconductor companies towards Indian software firms. Despite the sector’s recovery, technology funds recorded outflows of Rs 1,345 crore.

Healthcare funds attracted Rs 737 crore in fresh investments and continued their strong performance, gaining more than 16.4 per cent so far this year.

PSU banks gained more than 3.8 per cent on the back of strong quarterly results, while private bank stocks declined 4 per cent, widening the performance and fund-flow gap between the two segments.

Micro-cap stocks emerged as the strongest performers, returning 4.6 per cent in one month, 15.9 per cent year-to-date and 12.7 per cent over one year. Small-cap stocks returned 2.8 per cent during the month, 11.4 per cent year-to-date and 13.3 per cent over one year.

Large-cap funds remained down 3.9 per cent year-to-date but attracted Rs 14,977 crore in July, an increase of Rs 5,291 crore over June, the report noted.