Retail inflation inched up to 0.71 per cent in November on rising prices of vegetables, protein-rich items, and fuel, government data showed on Friday. The consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation had fallen to a record low of 0.25 per cent in October, mainly due to lower prices helped by GST rate cuts and a favourable base.
The imposition of safeguard duty, an uptick in exports, and an increase in input cost are driving steel prices higher. The latest round of price increase took place on Friday, with some steel mills increasing hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices by ~500-750 a tonne, according to price reporting and market intelligence firm BigMint. HRC is a benchmark for flat steel.
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Colgate-Palmolive India's September quarter (Q2FY26) performance has reinforced concerns among brokerages about the company's continued market challenges.
The stock of mid-tier information technology (IT) major Persistent Systems has been one of the outperformers in the IT pack with a return of 5.3 per cent over the last year, while its peer index, the Nifty IT, is down 16.2 per cent over the same period. The strong September quarter (Q2FY26) result and upgrades by brokerages are positive but its ability to sustain growth momentum in a weak macroeconomic environment will be key for future gains. At the current levels, the stock is trading at a premium valuation of 38 times its FY27 earnings estimates.
Trading pattern in the stock market this week will largely depend on the ongoing Q3 earnings announcement from corporates, global trends, and foreign fund movement, analysts said. Moreover, geopolitical developments and any update on trade negotiations would also be keenly tracked by investors, experts noted.
Prism, the parent firm of global travel tech unicorn Oyo, has filed preliminary papers with market regulator Sebi to raise Rs 6,650 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) using a confidential route, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
Top Indian cement firms are expected to report a strong earnings growth for the second quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (Q2FY26) on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, amid improved realisations, prices, and steady volume growth, but on a low base.
After a three-month slowdown, India's oil imports (already landed) from Russia bounced back in the first 15 days of October to 1.8 million barrels per day.
Commercial banks in India reported 26 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in slippages at Rs 63,000 crore during the first quarter ended June 2025 (Q1FY26). This was predominantly due to stress in microfinance and unsecured retail portfolios of select lenders.
Net direct tax collection grew 8 per cent to over Rs 17.04 lakh crore this fiscal till December 17 on slower refunds and higher advance taxes from corporates, the income tax department data showed on Friday.
Gross GST collections rose 6.1 per cent to over Rs 1.74 lakh crore in December 2025, even as sweeping tax cuts slowed down growth in revenues from domestic transactions, according to government data released on Thursday.
'This Budget has a one-year agenda, which you can call the sprint, and the marathon is towards Viksit Bharat.'
Buoyant domestic sales are expected to lift revenues for pharma companies by 8-11 per cent in Q3FY26, even as declining generic Revlimid (cancer drug) sales in the US remain a key drag. Most brokerages forecast a modest 2-4 per cent growth in profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter. Hospitals and diagnostics companies, meanwhile, are likely to post much stronger numbers, with revenues seen growing 20-22 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).
India's high cost of capital due to relatively shallow corporate bond markets, limited institutional investor depth, sovereign risk premia, and regulatory restrictions on capital flows, is a constraint on private investment and long-run growth, the Economic Survey, authored by Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran, said.
Credit quality of Indian corporate is expected to be stable in the second half of the current financial year (H2FY26), supported by easing monetary cycle, and declining inflation, coupled with income-tax relief and rationalisation of the goods and service tax (GST) rates, among others.
The largest tranche came in July, in the wake of Operation Sindoor, with the DAC according acceptance of necessity -- or initial approval -- for 10 capital acquisition proposals amounting to approximately 1.05 trillion through indigenous sourcing.
Public-sector banks (PSBs) are attracting the attention of investors and the PSU Bank Index has gained nearly 10 per cent in the past month. PSBs have seen return on assets (RoA) climbing to 1 per cent in 2024-2025 (FY25) and margins are believed to have moved up further in the first half of this financial year (H1FY26) with asset quality remaining stable.
The government on Wednesday launched Rs 4,531 crore market access support (MAS) intervention scheme for a six-year period (FY26-31) to improve global reach, visibility and competitiveness of Indian exporters through 'structured and outcome-oriented' interventions.
The stock of Bharti Airtel, India's largest listed telecommunications (telecom) services provider, recently hit an all-time high on expectations of higher average revenue per user (Arpu), a stable market setup, and fresh revenue lines.
Infosys, HCL, Wipro ramp up fresher intake as AI reshapes skills demand and hiring shifts from 'hire to train' to 'train to hire'.
'In the last one year, we have added more than Rs 1.7 trillion, and we are on track.'
India's real GDP grew 8.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025-26, up from 7.8 percent in the first quarter and 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal.
The automobile and auto-ancillary sector is expected to show strong Q3FY26 results, aided by festival-led demand, rationalisation in goods and services tax (GST) rates for select categories of vehicles, easing interest rates, and improving rural sentiment.
The Indian economy is projected to grow at 6.2 per cent in 2025-26, slower than earlier estimated rate of 6.5 per cent, due to escalated trade tensions and global uncertainty, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday. "For India, the growth outlook is relatively more stable at 6.2 per cent in 2025, supported by private consumption, particularly in rural areas," IMF said in its World Economic Outlook (WEO).
While Q2FY26 is expected to be mildly disappointing for the hospital sector, there's a lot of investor optimism for the future. This comes after a favourable revision in rates for Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) procedures, as well as expectations of rising occupancy and growth in average revenue per operating bed (ARPOB).
Hindustan Unilever Ltd's (HUL's) second quarter 2025-26 (Q2FY26) consolidated revenue rose 2 per cent to Rs 16,250 crore, with low or flat volume growth. Demand remained stable but goods and services tax (GST) transition and prolonged monsoon hurt offtake.
Ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy review in the first week of December, major public sector non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) - the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), Power Finance Corporation (PFC), and Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) - plan to raise up to Rs 24,000 crore together through bond issuancesk.
Healthcare major Max Healthcare Institute delivered a healthy performance in the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26). Strong patient volumes and average revenues not only boosted the top line but also aided the operating performance.
From the Sensex firms, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Eternal, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the biggest gainers. However, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Titan and Tech Mahindra were the laggards.
Smartphone exports for the first six months (April to September) of 2025-26 (FY26) surged to $13.4 billion, based on industry estimates. Driven by the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, this marks a 59 per cent jump over the $8.5 billion exported during the same period of the previous financial year (2024-25/FY25).
The stock of Bharat Electronics (BEL) has risen 10 per cent over the past seven to eight trading sessions, driven by order wins that improve revenue visibility. The gains mark a reversal of a declining trend in its stock price between early July and late August, during which the scrip fell over 13 per cent.
'Some success has been achieved in raising the costs of terrorism for Pakistan.'
Retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 1.33 per cent in December 2025 mainly due to higher prices of kitchen essentials, including vegetables and protein-rich items.
The country's largest IT services company TCS on Monday reported 13.91 per cent decline in December quarter net profit at Rs 10,657 crore. The Tata Group company had posted a net profit of Rs 12,380 crore in the October-December period of FY25 and Rs 12,075 crore in the preceding September quarter.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) came in at (-) 0.32 per cent in November, driven by an uptick in prices of food articles like pulses and vegetables on a month-on-month basis, government data showed on Monday.
Reserve Bank on Wednesday cut India's growth forecast to 6.5 per cent from 6.7 per cent estimated earlier for the current financial year on account of impact of global trade and policy uncertainties. Prospects of agriculture sector remain bright on the back of healthy reservoir levels and robust crop production in 2025-26, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said while unveiling the outcome of the first bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee meeting for the current financial year.
This is the second-worst performance by the pack during this period over the last five years since CY20.
'We believe the truth is in the middle, and that India is at an important crossroads.'
'We want to play the value game for our consumers, which is health and retail will grow faster for us than the group.'
