Shares of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country's largest IT services provider, continue to remain under pressure, hitting a new eight-month low of Rs 3,624.90 intraday on Tuesday before closing at Rs 3,631, down 1.19 per cent. In the past two trading sessions, the stock price has declined 4 per cent on fears of a slowing US economy.
Analysts have largely maintained their positive outlook on HDFC Bank, as the private lender reported in-line results for the October-December quarter (Q3) of the current financial year (2024-25/FY25). They believe the results were 'strong' given the tough macro environment, and relative to peers.
At a time when Apple delivered its flagship line of new products on schedule despite battling a year of supply-chain turmoil, India could account for at least 12 per cent of the free-on-board (FoB) value of Apple Inc's iPhones manufactured by its vendors globally by 2025-26 (FY26). The number represents a significant shift for the Cupertino-based company's over-dependence on China, where 95 per cent of its phones are still being made. India's growing importance can be seen from the fact that in 2021-22 (FY22) - the first year of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme (the scheme was extended by a year due to the pandemic) - the FoB value of iPhones made in the country was $1.75 billion, translating into less than 2 per cent of the global value.
Goods and services tax (GST) collections from mobile device companies, amounting to Rs 1.82 trillion between 2020-21 (FY21) and 2023-24 (FY24), have already generated more than five times the revenue for the government compared to the Rs 34,149 crore allocated under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile devices over six years ending 2025-26 (FY26). Currently, the GST on mobile devices stands at 18 per cent.
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's call for making lending rates affordable may not resonate anytime soon as banks still struggle with margin compression, and await clues from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on liquidity and rate action. Hinting that any lending rate cut was some time away, State Bank of India (SBI) managing director Vinay M Tonse said there was still some aggression in the market regarding deposit pricing.
Delhivery share price dropped 6.6 per cent to a low of ?295.8 per share on the BSE on Monday after analysts cut their earnings estimate on the stock, following weak results for the December quarter (Q3) of the current financial year (FY25). Q3 is a seasonally strong quarter due to festive pick-up in demand.
RBI's interest rate decision, quarterly earnings and global cues would be the major driving factors for equity markets this week, analysts said adding that the impact of the Union Budget could linger on this week. Trading activity of foreign investors will also be a key driver for the markets, experts noted. "US and India's manufacturing PMI for January to be released on Monday, will be the key macro data to watch out for.
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Steel maker JSW Steel's Q3 results, announced on January 24, 2025, after market hours, failed to meet Street expectations. The company reported a consolidated net profit attributable to the owners of Rs 717 crore in Q3FY25, reflecting a 70.3 per cent decline Y-o-Y, compared to Rs 2,415 crore in Q3FY24.
While most analysts are expecting poor results from oil marketing companies (OMCs) in the first quarter of 2024-25 (Q1FY25) and even in the first half (H1) of FY25, GAIL (India) could be an outlier. Upstream producers, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India (OIL) could do well due to strong crude and gas prices, but refiners are likely to see weak margins and the impact of frozen prices during the election period will also be negative.
Quick commerce (qcom) industry is poised to lead gig workforce hiring in 2025, propelled by a surge in demand for faster deliveries, expansion by existing players, entry of new competitors, and evolving consumer preferences in the post-pandemic era, according to industry experts. The qcom industry currently employs nearly 260,000 people - around 200,000 delivery personnel and 60,000 dark store workers, according to TeamLease Staffing.
In a significant policy shift aimed at boosting agri-productivity and rural prosperity, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced six new agricultural schemes while increasing the subsidised Kisan Credit Card loan limit to Rs 5 lakh from the existing Rs 3 lakh, benefiting 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen, and dairy farmers.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday unveiled 'transformative' tax reforms that ranged from a simpler income tax law to higher TCS threshold for remittances and income tax benefits for middle class.
A robust margin performance in the September quarter (Q2FY25) led to a 12 per cent rise in the stock of defence major Bharat Electronics (BEL). While the stock has given up most of those gains in the recent market correction, analysts are positive on the company due to its strong order book, new order inflows, and margin trajectory. The near-term trigger has been the operating performance in Q2FY25.
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
The ongoing key reforms such as sops for manufacturing, easier labour laws, wooing FDI inflows and privatisation will help improve productivity and support long-term growth at 7.5-8 per cent levels, which if played out well, can help India contribute 15 per cent of global GDP growth by FY2026, says a report. According to a report pencilled by the India economist at UBS Securities, Tanvee Gupta Jain, the country has the lowest manufacturing costs among peers, even though China retains significant ecosystem advantages and despite that India and Vietnam appear most likely to benefit from a shift out of China.
IT services major Infosys on Thursday reported 11.46 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 6,806 crore for December quarter FY25 and raised its guidance on the back of growth in financial services and manufacturing. The company had logged a profit of Rs 6,106 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The meltdown in Dalal Street that wiped out investor wealth to the tune of 44 trillion in 2025 also seems to be having a ripple effect on the country's vibrant automobile retail sales.
Engineering, telecom and healthcare sectors are likely to add close to 12 million new jobs by FY26, largely due to the focus on recovery along with technology proliferation and digitisation in these segments, according to a report. A report by TeamLease Digital, the staffing division of TeamLease Services, said specialised staff or professional staff with high-skill and expertise will form nearly 17 per cent of the overall jobs created. The report -- titled 'Professional Staffing - Digital Employment Trends Report' -- is a qualitative research that has surveyed and interviewed more than 750 employers/ leaders from across engineering, telecom and healthcare sectors.
Global rating agency Fitch on Thursday affirmed India's 'BBB-' rating with a stable outlook on strong growth outlook and fiscal credibility. Fitch said India is set to remain among the fastest-growing sovereigns globally with GDP growth of 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal year and 6.5 per cent in FY26, down from 8.2 per cent in FY24. "Fitch Ratings has affirmed India's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB-' with a Stable Outlook," the global rating agency said in a statement.
The pre-sales volume of Godrej Properties (GPL) for third quarter of the financial year 2025 (Q3FY25) declined 6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) -- down 21 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) -- to 4.1 million square feet (msf), resulting in a pre-sales value of Rs 5,450 crore, down 5 per cent each Y-o-Y and Q-o-Q. About 77 per cent came from newly launched projects. For 9MFY25, pre-sales were up 48 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 19,300 crore.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato surged over 7 per cent. Maruti, ITC Hotels, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Titan and IndusInd Bank were among the biggest gainers. Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Adani Ports were among the laggards.
Road awards were muted in Q1FY25. But the pace will accelerate with a bidding pipeline of Rs 1.1 trillion (September 2024), mostly dominated by HAM (Hybrid Annuity Model) projects, which contribute 47 per cent and engineering procurement and construction or EPC projects, which have about 36 per cent share. Hence, infrastructure companies mostly reported revenue decline on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis in Q1FY25.
Nestle surged 4.25 per cent after the FMCG major reported 4.94 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 688.01 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. IndusInd Bank, Titan, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, ITC and Maruti were the other major gainers. ITC Hotels, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.
IT services company Infosys on Wednesday said it did not use force or intimidation tactics when it laid off trainees at Mysuru campus over performance-related issues, and that it was explaining the circumstances to the labour department authorities. In an interview to PTI, Shaji Mathew, chief human resources officer at Infosys, however, conceded that assessment failure percentages this time around have been "slightly higher" than in the past but dismissed charges that the tests had been designed for failure.
The Budget assumes significance as it comes on the back of lower-than-expected growth numbers during the second quarter and geopolitical uncertainty.
'We are not incentivising the old tax scheme. These taxpayers will also shift to the new regime after comparison.'
Whether nominal or real, India's investment rate needs to increase by 3 to 4 percentage points of GDP to support 8 per cent real growth, recommends Nikhil Gupta.
'We are getting to understand the mind of this generation.' 'Minor tweaks are being made to ease the process as we go along.'
Indian Hotels reported strong consolidated revenue growth of 29 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25), led by revenue per available room, or RevPAR, growth of 15 per cent. The average room rate, or ARR, was up 13 per cent and occupancy improved 120 basis points (bps) Y-o-Y on a standalone business. Like-for-like revenue growth was 15 per cent Y-o-Y, while TajSats (airline catering) grew by 18 per cent Y-o-Y.
Any reduction in the customs duty on smartphone parts in the forthcoming budget will harm India's developing component ecosystem, discourage investment, increase imports, and make local firms uncompetitive, potentially resulting in job losses, think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. India's smartphone industry is a 'Make in India' success story, with 2023-24 production reaching $49.2 billion and exports at $15.6 billion, making smartphones the fourth-largest export after diesel, aviation fuel, and polished diamonds.
Shares of Bajaj Finance surged over 6 per cent on Thursday after the diversified non-banking finance company reported an 18 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,308 crore for the December quarter. The stock rallied 6.33 per cent intraday to touch Rs 8,249.95 - a 52-week high -- on the BSE.
'2025 is the year to build a portfolio for the future. Focus this year should be on valuations and visible growth.'
'Earlier, our cost of funds was higher than most in the peer group.'
The listed information technology (IT) subsidiaries of engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T), LTIMindtree (LTIM) and L&T Technology Services, have seen sharp upmoves over the past fortnight, with returns ranging from 14 to 18 per cent. Both have outperformed the peer index, the National Stock Exchange Nifty IT, which has gained about 8 per cent, while the benchmark Nifty 50 is up 4 per cent during this period.
The news of Dixon Technologies (India)'s tie-up with HP in addition to its existing Lenovo and Acer partnerships has led to a 5 per cent stock uptick since the start of the week. Dixon can target roughly 60 per cent of India's addressable IT hardware market with these contracts. Dixon targets Rs 48,000 crore in revenue from IT hardware under the PLI scheme over the next six years.
FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) hosted its annual investor day recently. The responses were positive from analysts. Although some analysts pared FY25 and FY26 estimates, the bulk continued to issue 'buy' calls after the stock rose 2.5 per cent. The management expects the Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) business to grow at a 25 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during FY24-28.
Global firm Accenture's fourth quarter results prove that the worst is behind for the Indian information technology (IT) sector, said analysts on Friday (September 27). While the pace and the broadness of recovery is debatable, they said Accenture's results and revenue growth guidance for the next financial year (FY25) reduce downside risks for Indian IT companies.
As RBI governor, Sanjay Malhotra will have to give the highest priority to the interest of the economy while deciding on the growth-inflation trade off at Mint Street.