Foreign investors' derivatives bets continue to signal caution on Indian equities despite a slowdown in their cash-market selling, as uncertainty around the fragile US-Iran peace deal, a weak rupee and more attractive opportunities in other Asian markets keep sentiment subdued. The Nifty gained 1.65% last week. However, the long-short ratio of foreign portfolio investors' positions in Nifty futures-a measure of bullish bets relative to bearish ones-stood at 12.95% on Friday. While the increase in the ratio from 8.1% two weeks earlier shows some reduction in short positions, the reading remains far too high to conclude that foreigners have turned bullish. IIFL Securities