From around $1,620 an ounce in late 2022 to nearly $5,595 at its peak in 2026, the yellow metal has staged one of its strongest rallies in recent history. In India, the gains have been even more dramatic. A weakening rupee amplified the global surge, pushing domestic gold prices from roughly Rs 50,000-52,000 per 10 grams to as high as Rs 1.72 lakh earlier this year.
Over the last two years, investors have treated AI as a straight-line story: more models, more tokens, more data centers, more chips, more revenues and eventually massive productivity gains. The problem is that the spending cycle has moved much faster than the cash-flow cycle. And now with full automation remaining a mirage, a correction is likely to happen. It can travel from LLM companies to hyperscalers, then to data-center builders, chip companies and eventually the fab ecosystem.
Indian equity markets may be entering a year where the headline index tells only half the story. The Nifty 50 has recovered from volatility and remains a strong representation of India’s largest businesses, but the next phase of market leadership may not come from the same narrow set of large-cap names that dominated previous cycles.
For Arun Patel, founder and partner at Arunasset Investment Services, the thrill of tracking a tiger through dense forests is remarkably similar to identifying a multibagger stock before the rest of the market.
Alternative investments have become an important part of the portfolio composition conversation for investors. The reason is not merely fashion or complexity. Alternatives can offer access to assets, structures and return opportunities that mutual funds are not designed to provide.