'At least 25 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of plastic chewing gum gets dumped.' 'And because the way people spit it out, there's no possible way this plastic can be recycled.'
Market reaction to the Union Budget was overall neutral. The income tax "gift" wasn't enough to move the needle. There was some apparent rationalisation of Customs duty structure as well as cuts on import duties of some key components for the telecom and IT industry and duty cuts on vehicle imports. Other proposals related to development of agriculture and rural economy and renewables seem to be generally positive.
Gold price outlook 2025: Gold prices that have climbed over 30 per cent so far in 2024 to Rs 7,300 per gram in the Indian markets (up 28 per cent in dollar terms till November-end), are set for their best calendar year performance in 10 years, suggests a recent report by World Gold Council (WGC). However, this stellar run, analysts believe, may not carry through till the end of 2025 in the backdrop of economic and geopolitical headwinds.
Dalal Street minnows stole the show in 2024, giving handsome returns to investors, helped by a largely optimistic trend in the stock market and impressive retail investors' participation. Analysts attributed the positive trend in the equity markets, where the benchmark indices shattered many records this year, to robust domestic liquidity, strong fundamentals of the Indian economy, and policy continuity.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, and Tata Steel were the biggest gainers. ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.
One of the biggest advantages of index funds and ETFs is their low cost, points out Sarbajeet K Sen.
On the face of it, it is not advisable chase this rally, says Sonali Ranade
Small-cap stocks raked in big gains in fiscal 2021-22 by giving up to 36.64 per cent returns, outshining the bigger benchmark gauge and experts believe that they may continue to outperform in FY23. Markets faced many headwinds in the latter part of the last fiscal with the emergence of geopolitical tension, inflation concerns and FII selling. Analysts said that the first half of the last fiscal was very good, while the market entered into consolidation in the second half, combined with high volatility.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
The primary market is expected to remain vibrant, with at least 10 companies, including supermart major Vishal Mega Mart and Blackstone-owned diamond grading firm International Gemmological Institute (India) Ltd expected to raise a combined Rs 20,000 crore in the next month, merchant bankers said. Education-focused NBFC Avanse Financial Services, TPG Capital-backed Sai Life Sciences, hospital chain operator Paras Healthcare, and investment bank DAM Capital Advisors are also among the companies planning to launch their IPOs in December, they added. The companies aim to raise a total of Rs 20,000 crore through their public offerings.
'If their allocation to certain segments have become high due to strong returns over the past three-four years, they should rebalance their portfolios and bring them in line with their long-term asset allocation.'
The average ticket size for a systematic investment plan (SIP) is edging up, even as the pace of new account openings remains strong. SIP ticket sizes had been shrinking in recent years, as mutual fund (MF) penetration grew. However, the average ticket size has started to climb again after a steep drop in the post-pandemic period, as the industry has doubled its investor base in the past four years.
'2022 has not been -- and will not be -- the kind of 2021 bull market, which lifted all boats.'
Dwaipayan Bose simplifies the whys and hows of revisiting your financial goals
Investors must be cautious and follow a prudent diversification strategy to mitigate against any risks in case of any unforeseen events.
Benchmark equity indices continued their record-shattering spree on Tuesday, with the Sensex and Nifty hitting their fresh all-time high levels in early trade, amid persistent foreign fund inflows. Also, buying in Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC twins added to the positive market momentum. Rallying for the fifth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 381.55 points to hit its all-time peak of 65,586.60 in early trade.
Benchmark Brent oil futures prices more than halved between June 2014 and January 2015.
Even if the Paytm fiasco does not mark the end of the bull run, at least some sanity will return to the wild IPO market, observes Debashis Basu.
'Consider your household's financial health and all your other goals.' 'Buying a house might seem like an urgent goal, but it is rarely the only one.'
From the 30 Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, Maruti, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Nestle, Bharti Airtel and Adani Ports were the biggest gainers. Tata Consultancy Services emerged as the only laggard.
India's first $1 trillion company by market capitalisation (mcap) is achievable by 2032 and HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries (RIL) are seen as lead contenders, ICICI Securities said in a note on Monday. To achieve this, the shares of both the firms will have to appreciate at least 20 per cent annually for the next decade. ICICI Securities believes this is possible if India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth accelerates to 9 per cent per annum and corporate profitability cycle peaks. "Our calculations suggest that India's first $1 trillion mcap stock could emerge by 2032.
A strong appetite for gold on Friday's Dhanteras is expected this year due to auspicious reasons and geopolitical concerns, continuing the 2022 trend driven by pent-up COVID demand. Compared to last year's Dhanteras, gold prices have jumped 22 per cent and silver prices by 21 per cent, respectively. "Gold and silver are good for portfolio diversification, especially in times of geopolitical turbulence.
'Investors should not go for lump-sum investments in infrastructure funds at this point.' 'The SIP route is the best to avoid any major disappointment.'
"We are in an early stage of a long-run bull market," says Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
Stock market investments are always said to involve risks and people who made big fortunes often made headlines as scamsters, leading to Dalal Street always being looked at with suspicion, but Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was broadly an exception. Jhunjhunwala, a partner at RARE Enterprises, who rose to amass a $5.8 billion fortune and earn the tag of the country's biggest individual investor, leaves behind a relatively cleaner slate, as was seen in the most common description for him -- 'India's own Warren Buffett'. Unlike names like Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh, whose rise in fortunes in post-liberalised India was tainted with scam links, the newest 'Big Bull' in the more-regulated market had lesser baggage on this front.
Water projects firm Vishnu Prakash R Punglia, the 20th company to launch its IPO in the current year, saw its shares closing at a 47 per cent gain over its issue price on Tuesday. Such a huge one-day pop is considered rare; however, it has become the norm this year. The average listing-day gain for these 20 IPOs in 2023 is 34 per cent, and their average gain to date stands at 46 per cent.
'The Nifty index looks to be 20 per cent overvalued as per our model after moving up more than 10 per cent in the last two months.'
One animal seems to have heard the Prime Minister's call to revive animal spirits in the economy.
The gap between Nifty's price-earnings multiple and economic growth is at a 12-year high
'Some risks to this market rally include inflation, erratic weather conditions, rising crude prices, slowing global growth and the resultant impact on domestic exports, escalation in geopolitical tensions.'
Equity market will be guided by global trends, macroeconomic data announcement and foreign fund movement in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Movement of the rupee and Brent crude oil will also remain in focus this week, they added. "The bulls need some support from global markets to continue Friday's momentum.
Among the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank were the major gainers. Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Power Grid were the laggards.
Instead of getting swayed by market gyrations, investors must stay invested for the long term, advises Sarbajeet K Sen.
It was a case of 'buy on hopes and sell on news' as the Indian market posted only modest gains despite a landslide victory to Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Equity strategists are basing their expectation on strong corporate earnings recovery, supportive global economic growth, and gradual improvement in business sentiment.
'A time-wise, as well as price correction, so that the market can absorb the gains made over the past 17 months.'
'It could tempt investors to pick stocks that are not fundamentally sound.'
Red Bull have given "a definite no" to four-times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel's hopes of returning to them next year, team boss Christian Horner said on Friday. The German, who is out of contract with Ferrari at the end of the season and facing an uncertain future, had said on Thursday he would say yes to a Red Bull drive if one was offered.
'Peninsular Indians could ask 'Why should we contribute half of India's tax revenues if we account for only a quarter of the seats in the Lok Sabha?'.' 'The rest of the country seems likely to counter that 'democracy means one vote per person irrespective of where that person resides in India'.' 'With no easy answers to this thorny debate, the south's economic ascendancy could end up creating a Hobson's choice.' A revealing excerpt from Nandita Rajhansa and Saurabh Mukherjea's book, Behold the Leviathan: The Unusual Rise of Modern India.
