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Informist, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026

By Vaishali Tyagi

MUMBAI – Yields on corporate bonds rose across tenures in the secondary market on Monday amid muted participation from banks and mutual funds, dealers said. The market was sluggish compared with previous sessions due to a lack of fresh global and domestic cues, they said. 

Traders were most active in bonds with maturities of up to five years in the secondary market, with very little activity in longer tenures. The market remained range-bound, with no significant buying or selling pressure, and a slight tilt towards selling as traders sold to make space for fresh issuances, dealers said.

"Participation was low today (Monday) because there are no cues in the market... buying and selling is mostly driven by specific requirements," a dealer at a brokerage firm said. "Trades were mostly seen in the short-term segment, with some activity in longer tenures due to primary issuances."

Overall volume in the secondary market remained low, with few big trades. "Levels went up a bit, but there is no exact buyer or seller activity... both sides are present, but slightly more on the selling side," a dealer at another brokerage firm said. In the secondary market, deals aggregating to INR 80.51 billion were recorded on the National Stock Exchange and BSE combined Monday, from INR 77.65 billion Friday. Mutual funds, insurance companies, and banks were seen buying and selling bonds in low volumes. Pension funds and companies were absent from the market, dealers said. 

According to market participants, activity in the short-term money market was relatively better compared to the corporate bond market, with mutual funds participating aggressively. "The market saw some big moves in the afternoon after a slow morning... overall, the market is expected to remain range-bound in the secondary market with no significant movements anticipated in the near term," a fund manager at a mutual fund said.

Papers issued by Anand Rathi Global Finance, Canara Bank, Muthoot Fincorp., National Highways Infra Trust, Indian Railway Finance Corp., India Infrastructure Finance Co., Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Railway Finance Corp., Indusind General Insurance Co., Mahindra And Mahindra Financial Services, Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corp. were traded the most on exchanges Monday.

Bond issuances in the primary market fell to INR 7.6 billion on Monday from INR 106.25 billion Friday. Tuesday, issuances aggregating to INR 18.50 billion are scheduled. Jindal Jhajjar Power plans to raise INR 6 billion through two bonds, one maturing in two years and the other in three years. Muthoottu Mini Financiers has invited bids to raise INR 6.30 billion through three bonds. Edel Finance plans to raise INR 2 billion by reissuing two zero-coupon bonds, dealers said.

Merchant bankers expect primary issuances to pick up this week, with banks, non-banking financial companies, and municipal corporations planning to tap the market. Some have received fresh ratings from agencies, while others are assessing market conditions.

UDAY BONDS

In the secondary market, there were no Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana bonds traded for the second straight day, according to data on the RBI's Negotiated Dealing System-Order Matching system Monday.

BENCHMARK LEVELS FOR CORPORATE BONDS

End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Saji George Titus

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