Equity market investors would track global trends, foreign fund movement and quarterly earnings in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Stock exchanges BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session on Tuesday, October 21.
UBS has turned bullish on emerging markets (EM), including India, as it finds benign macro trends, positive momentum in earnings revisions, and resilient EM currencies helping these economies sustain higher valuations and attracting flows. Among regions, it has upgraded Mainland China to 'attractive' and China Tech to 'most attractive', while downgrading Philippines to 'neutral'.
The 15th India-Vietnam Defence Dialogue signalled a move from routine talks to deeper cooperation, with new deals on submarine rescue and defence industry to support stability in the Indo-Pacific, notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Stock market investors this week would track the renewed tariff tensions between the US and China, domestic inflation data, besides, quarterly earnings from blue-chips HCL Tech, Infosys and Reliance Industries would also drive the momentum in equities, analysts said.
There's no change in Apple Inc's India strategy, said a top government source. 'It can only be enhanced'.
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).
Trump made the announcement in response to what he described as China taking "an extraordinarily aggressive position on trade" by sending "an extremely hostile letter to the world."
India should simultaneously prioritise domestic exploration and production of more oil and gas in the country, and ensure we retain diversified suppliers for imports, points out former foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai.
China on Wednesday accused the United States for originating COVID-19, claiming America was trying to 'shift the blame' after US President Donald Trump said that the disease was leaked from a Wuhan lab, New York Post reported.
'There are times when India should stand up without hesitation and voice its indignation over the US' pressure tactic. This is one such moment,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
High energy costs, long a drag on India's manufacturing competitiveness, are finally easing. Power and fuel expenses accounted for 1.98 per cent of net sales in 2024-25, the lowest level in data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) over the past two decades.
The $22.8 billion CK Hutchison ports deal intensifies geopolitical tensions between the US and China. Chinese media has already called it 'a betrayal of all Chinese people'. Shyam G Menon explains how the proposed sale will reshapes global trade infrastructure.
Indication of a potential US Federal Reserve rate cut may trigger optimism in the domestic equity market, with investors' attention shifting to the looming deadline for additional US tariffs on Indian goods in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said.
'We don't have to compete with Maharashtra or Gujarat. We have to now start thinking about how we compete with the United States or China.'
India's top listed real estate developers - DLF, Lodha Group, Prestige Estates, and Oberoi Realty, excluding Godrej Properties - reported strong presales growth in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025-26 (FY26), even as earnings showed a mixed trend. According to Nomura, the top five developers - DLF, Lodha, Prestige, Oberoi, and Godrej - recorded a cumulative 59 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in presales.
"I understood tariffs better than any human being in the world. And now with my tariffs, they were all dropping them. India was the most highly tariffed nation... And you know what, they've offered me no tariffs in India anymore. No tariffs," Trump said.
The escalation in the US-China trade war is expected to help India increase its exports and attract investments from American companies, think tank GTRI said on Friday. He said that last month, the US Senate introduced two bills that could intensify the trade war and have major global economic impacts if passed.
In the short run, the Trump presidency has already ensured one thing: The assumptions of the past can no longer guide the strategies of the future, points out Manish Dabhade.
The trade war between the US and China is expected to benefit Indian exporters in increasing their shipments to the American market, sources said. They said the country was the fourth-largest gainer when the US imposed higher duties on Chinese goods during US President Donald Trump's first tenure.
If the US' renewed closeness with Pakistan ends up strengthening Pakistan's military, it will clearly show that Washington no longer wants a strong India and could be ready to let China dominate Asia, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
From the Sensex pack, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and Eternal were the lead gainers. Power Grid, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Nestle, HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.
After investing a staggering amount in May, foreign investors turned net sellers with a withdrawal of Rs 8,749 crore from the Indian equity markets in the first week of this month triggered by renewed US-China trade tensions and rising US bond yields. This momentum follows a net investment of Rs 19,860 crore in May and Rs 4,223 crore in April, data with the depositories showed.
A meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit is being planned.
Gold prices are expected to witness further consolidation in the coming week as investors brace for a slew of events, ranging from central bank meetings, including the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting's outcome, to global trade negotiations, analysts said.
One must wonder whether Mr Modi's efforts to wine and dine the Big Two of today's world were seen as a sign of weakness rather than a proffered arm of friendship, points out R Jagannathan.
India is projected to grow at 6.4 per cent in fiscal year 2025 and 2026, and the country's stable growth is driven by a reform momentum supporting robust consumption growth and a push for public investment, the International Monetary Fund has said. The IMF released its World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update on Tuesday.
'We continue to view India as a standout within EM.'
'We should watch -- in the near term -- for signs that the two have totally fallen out at a personal, political level.' 'Trump and Modi know how to be dealmakers, but they also know how to hold a grudge.'
Gold prices are likely to remain under pressure in the coming week as investors await key US macroeconomic data for cues on the Federal Reserve's potential direction on interest rates, which in turn will influence the trajectory for the precious metal, according to analysts. Market sentiment has tilted away from safe-haven assets like gold amid fading geopolitical tensions and improving risk appetite towards riskier assets such as equities, they said.
India has become the world's fourth largest economy, overtaking Japan, according to NITI Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam. He cited IMF data, stating that India's economy is now larger than Japan's, with a USD 4 trillion GDP. Subrahmanyam also highlighted the favorable geopolitical and economic environment for India, predicting that within 2.5-3 years, India will become the third largest economy.
Investors' wealth eroded by Rs 5.98 lakh crore on Thursday, tracking weak trends in equities where the BSE Sensex tumbled 1 per cent. Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined 1 per cent in tandem with weak global market trends amid growing tensions in the Middle East.
When the technology gap between China and India will remain large, cost-effective hardware of the kind that proved their worth in Operation Sindoor should be our priority, points out R Jagannathan.
From the Sensex firms, Eternal climbed 3.32 per cent. Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel and Hindustan Unilever were the other major gainers. However, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.
Among Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra declined. Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Infosys, HCL Tech, IndusInd Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
India's merchandise exports to the US rose by 16.93 per cent to $8.83 billion in May, while imports dipped by 5.76 per cent to $3.62 billion during the month, according to the commerce ministry data. During April-May, the country's exports to the US increased by 21.78 per cent to $17.25 billion, while imports rose by 25.8 per cent to $8.87 billion, the data showed.
The top 20 fund houses held 6.8 per cent of their portfolios in cash as of May 31, down from a record high of 7.2 per cent in April 2025.
India's journey with 5G still has a long way to go. The country ranked 33 out of 39 in the 5G Connectivity Index for the second quarter of 2024, released by GSMA Intelligence. However, in areas like 5G revenue growth, data affordability, and video quality, India ranks among the best in the world.
US President Donald Trump on Friday again sought to pressurise Apple on its decision to increase production of its iPhone in India. Trump said that Apple will have to pay a 25 per cent import tariffs if its mobile handsets sold in US are not produced in the boundaries of the country.
The 17 rare earth elements that are at the centre of the current crisis are critical components of everyday products -- from cars to jet engines to electronics like smartphones and flat-screen TVs.
Finding solutions to address non-tariff barriers would be important for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) and both sides are actively working on resolving these issues, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said the two sides are "pretty" close to finalising the talks for the proposed free trade pact.
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