Both bonds and equities are part of investments. Equities would represent ownership in a company, while bonds represent debt instruments issued by a firm or the government for raising money. One common metric that investors look at is the bond yield. What are bond yields? How might they affect equity returns, especially in the Indian securities market?

Let's break it down.

What Are Bond Yields?

A bond yield is the return that an investor earns from holding a bond. Usually, it is expressed as a percentage of the bond's face value. Bond yields usually change with interest rates and market price of the bond.

There are two main types of bond yields:

• Current Yield

  
  This is the outcome of determining the annual interest payment divided by the current market price of the bond. Its function is to gauge the rate of income you can obtain based on a current price for the bond.

• Yield to Maturity (YTM):

  
  This is a more cumulative measure that determines the overall returns an investor can expect if the bond is carried till maturity, considering both the interest paid by the bond and any capital gain or loss.

Bonds in India:

Both the government and corporations issue bonds. The yield is safer in government bonds or G-secs, whereas corporate bonds carry higher yields with added risk.

How Bond Yields Affect Equity Returns

Bond yields and equity returns are often considered inversely correlated. When the bond yields go up, equity returns decline, and vice versa: whenever bond yields decline, equity markets tend to rally.

Let's see why this may be so.

• Interest Rate Sensitivity

  
  There is a very strong relationship between the bond yields and the interest rates. In India, when the RBI increases the interest rates, the yield on the bonds issued later would tend to rise because new bonds are issued at higher interest rates. Existing bonds, being low on yield, tend to become less attractive, and their prices decline.
  
  Higher bond yields make the prospect for bonds more attractive than equities, hence making them more alluring to conservative investors in search of stable returns. Subsequently, some money will leave equities and be invested in bonds, and demand for stocks may decrease, eventually lowering equity prices.

• Cost of Borrowing

  
  High bond yields may also indicate an increase in the cost of borrowing for companies. The more interest rates rise, the more expensive it becomes for them to raise capital using debt. Consequently, it affects the profitability, bringing down their stock prices.
  
  For sectors such as infrastructure or real estate, where borrowing plays a larger role, higher bond yields translate into significantly higher returns on equities to their owners. Investors may decrease their positioning in these sectors and increase their positioning in bonds or other relatively safer assets.

• Investor Sentiment

  
  Yield on bonds is another indicator of investor sentiment. If the yield on bonds goes up, it usually implies that investors expect more inflation or more uncertainty in their economy. Risk averse investors then shift their money from equities to bonds as they seem safer. This decline in demand will have an equity price fall.
  
  On the contrary, when yields on bonds decline, it indicates that interest rates are coming down and, more likely than not, the economic climate is getting better. Lower bond yields make equities more attractive since the apparent returns from equities appear higher as compared to the returns from bonds. This augments investments in equities, which in turn increases the prices of stocks.

• Dividend Yields versus Bond Yields

  
  Many investors especially in India look at dividend yields of stocks while deciding. With an increase in bond yields, they are likely to exceed the dividend yield on stocks. Hence, income-focused investors would find bonds a better source of investment. This can lead to funds flowing out of equities to bonds and will have an adverse impact on the stock prices.
  
  However, if the yields of bonds are low, investors who have a demand for more significant returns might prefer equity due to its potential ability to give dividend income, as well as capital appreciation.

Bond yields are one of the variables that determine the performance and dynamics of the equity market and indeed of the Indian securities market. Not only do decreasing equity returns reduce by making bonds a better investment opportunity, push up borrowing costs, and create adverse investor sentiments, but the sharp decreases in bond yields push equity markets higher by encouraging more investments in stocks.

Monitoring the yields for an Indian investor forms an important tool for use in a larger investment strategy. This helps to understand the interaction between bond yields and equity returns, leading to decisions that will help manage the investment portfolio better.