India's fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) has launched a formal investigation against India's biggest paints firm, Asian Paints, for alleged abuse of its dominant position in the organised decorative paints market, following a complaint by Aditya Birla group's Grasim Industries' Birla Opus Paints division.
Asian Paints reported a good performance for the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26), with some help from base effects, despite strong competition and extended monsoon. Volume grew in low double digits in the key domestic decorative paints, and value in that segment grew by 6 per cent. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) grew 21 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), and PAT (profit after tax) grew 14 per cent. Asian Paints also defended market share better after several quarters where it had lost ground to Birla Opus.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries on Monday sold 85 lakh shares of Asian Paints for Rs 1,876 crore through an open market transaction.
The paint sector is seeing heightened competition with the entry of deep-pocketed groups like Aditya Birla and JSW. However, some brokerages see an opportunity in select stocks.
Shares of paint companies faced pressure, falling up to 5 per cent on the BSE in Monday's (February 26) intraday trade amid concerns that Grasim Industries' entry into the paint sector will intensify the competition. Asian Paints reached a 10-month low of Rs 2,850, slipping nearly 5 per cent after brokerage firm CLSA downgraded the stock following the Birla Opus launch. The paint maker's stock traded at its lowest level since April 28, 2023.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty extended their gains for the second straight session on Monday, driven by optimism over the India-US trade deal and robust buying in public sector banks, consumer durables, and realty stocks.
Share prices of Nestle India, Asian Paints, Bandhan Bank, Tata Technologies, AU Small Finance Bank and Avenue Supermarts, all a part of the BSE 500 index, have hit their respective 52-week lows on the BSE in Thursday's intra-day trade after a sharp correction in the equity markets.
Asian Paints signed up as Indian cricket's official colour partner for three years, covering a total of 110 matches.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher in highly volatile trade on Tuesday, buoyed by heavy buying in bank and metal stocks, a firm trend in global markets and optimism over India-EU FTA. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 319.78 points, or 0.39 per cent, to settle at 81,857.48.
Asian Paints has for long sold very small cans of paint which are used to colour the horns of bulls during the Pola festival in Maharashtra and the auspicious small red and yellow stripes at the bottom of the front door of Tamil Nadu homes. This might not always be remunerative, but it has given a tremendous boost to the company's brand recall.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply by nearly 1 per cent on Monday, driven by strong buying in power, banking, and financial stocks.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty extended their gains for the third straight session on Wednesday, driven by last-hour buying in bank, metal, and FMCG shares.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty advanced for the third straight session on Tuesday driven by firm global cues and optimism over India-US trade agreement, even as investors turned to profit-booking at higher levels.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Thursday after three sessions of losses, tracking gains in global markets after US President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone on Greenland. In a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 397.74 points, or 0.49 per cent, to close at 82,307.37.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled more than 1 per cent on Friday due to across-the-board selloff, especially in metal, IT and commodity stocks, tracking sluggish global markets.
Keerthy Suresh and Anthony Thattil share a lovely home in beautiful Kochi.
Market sentiment is likely to remain cautious as investors position themselves for the upcoming Union Budget and the US Fed's interest rate decision, where expectations are muted.
Benchmark BSE Sensex fell 558 points on Thursday amid heavy selling in IT shares, as concerns over AI-led disruptions and waning hopes of a Fed rate cut after firm US economic data weighed on investor sentiment.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints, Maruti, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the biggest laggards. On the other hand, Tata Steel, NTPC, Axis Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Thursday, snapping a three-day rally, amid a weak trend in global stock markets.
Stock markets closed higher for the second straight session on Tuesday, driven by gains in bank, IT and capital goods shares.
"The shutdown is partly because of inventory pile up and partly for annual maintenance," said a company spokesperson. "It can take from a week to a month to re-start the plant," he said, without giving more details. India's economy is expected to grow at a slower pace by the end of this financial year as demand for homes, offices and cars slows. The impact of the slowdown on the paint, home and office furnishing industry is expected to be felt with a lag, say analysts.
A company spokesperson said the operations in Queensland were small and not expected to make any significant impact in the company's performance.
Archana Puran Singh and Parmeet Sethi share a beautiful villa in Mumbai's scenic Madh Island, which boasts of Anglo-Spanish architecture and a close connection to nature.
Stock markets closed higher on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as expected and proposed allowing banks to lend to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with certain prudential safeguards to deepen the financing pool for the real estate sector.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics surged nearly 9 per cent post its December quarter earnings. Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were the other major gainers. Maruti, Sun Pharma, Infosys and Bharti Airtel were among the other laggards.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Thursday, helped by a rally in blue-chip Larsen & Toubro and the Economic Survey projecting the GDP growth of 6.8-7.2 per cent for the next fiscal.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Eternal declined by 4.02 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance (3.88 per cent), Sun Pharma, InterGlobe Aviation, Trent, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Finserv. HDFC Bank emerged as the only gainer from the pack.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Eternal, Infosys, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, HCL Tech and Titan were among the biggest laggards. However, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and Axis Bank were among the biggest gainers.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Eternal and Sun Pharma were among the biggest laggards. However, Titan, NTPC, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries and Hindustan Unilever were the gainers.
From the 30-Sensex firms, ITC tanked 9.69 per cent, following Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics and ICICI Bank. In contrast, NTPC, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and Power Grid were among the gainers.
Listed paint majors posted another lacklustre showing in the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25), with average revenue growth under 3 per cent. Sales were weighed down by Asian Paints - the market leader and the only major to report a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline.
A weaker-than-expected sales performance, concerns about higher competitive intensity in the current year, and earning cuts by some brokerages have weighed on the stock of the country's largest paint maker, Asian Paints. While the Q3 volume show was slightly below expectations, the company's operational and bottom line beat estimates, benefiting from the falling raw material costs. The stock ended the day with a decline of over 2 per cent at Rs 3,175 apiece.
Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers. In contrast, Eternal, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma and Maruti were among the laggards.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Maruti, Power Grid, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints and Tata Steel were among the biggest laggards. However, Titan, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were among the gainers.
Among Sensex firms, Trent, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bharat Electronics, Titan and Asian Paints were the major laggards. However, State Bank of India, Infosys, Axis Bank and Maruti were among the gainers.
From the 30-Sensex firms, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Finance were among the biggest laggards. However, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Bharat Electronics and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Adani Ports, HCL Tech, Power Grid, Trent, Bharat Electronics and Bharti Airtel were among the biggest laggards. However, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, and Eternal were among the gainers.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances