LIC's June-quarter bets reflect value play

Even as global uncertainties continued, LIC increased its stake in 54 listed companies in the June quarter

- Mayur Bhalerao

India's largest domestic institutional investor, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), made selective bets in its equity portfolio in the June quarter of FY26, even as global uncertainties continued to dampen foreign investor sentiment.

LIC increased its stake in 54 listed companies during the quarter, reflecting a calibrated and sectoral approach to navigating market volatility. However, it also trimmed its stakes in 64 firms on a sequential basis, a Mint analysis of 2,945 BSE-listed firms that have disclosed their shareholdings for the quarter revealed. This comes after LIC bought SBI shares worth ₹5,000 crore in the bank's qualified institutional placement (QIP) on 21 July, raising its stake from 9.21% to 9.49%.

The analysis also showed LIC had holdings of more than 1% in 232 companies—nearly 8% of all listed firms—in Q1FY25. Of these, it raised its holdings in roughly one out of every four, signaling a strategic accumulation spree across sectors such as FMCG, chemicals, auto components, and metals.