Major Indian carmakers are preparing for sluggish domestic PV sales growth of just 1-2 per cent in FY26.
Equity markets this week will turn their focus on the RBI's interest rate decision, Q1 earnings from several blue-chip firms and tariff-related news for further cues, analysts said. Moreover, trading activity of foreign investors and trends in global equity markets will also drive investors' sentiment.
Tata Sons' dividend from Tata group companies for last financial year is expected to show a decline of 3.5 per cent to Rs 36,514 crore from Rs 37,832 crore a year earlier. This should be the first year-on-year decline in Tata Sons' dividend in the last nine years. The holding company had last reported a decline in FY16, when its proceeds had gone down 42.5 per cent to Rs 6,898 crore from Rs 11,993 crore a year earlier.
'Although we are facing constraints related to lending and resource mobilisation, the government is aware of these.'
Sluggish urban demand, a high base effect, and weak sales of hatchbacks and sedans weigh down passenger vehicle sales in FY25.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined on Monday, extending the losing run to the fourth day amid selling in IT shares and foreign fund outflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 247.01 points or 0.30 per cent to settle at 82,253.46. During the day, it fell 490.09 points or 0.59 per cent to 82,010.38 but recovered some of the losses towards the close.
Bad loans in the agriculture sector remain elevated, with several public-sector banks (PSBs) reporting higher slippages in the April-June quarter of FY26. For many banks, non-performing assets (NPAs) in farm lending were 5 per cent or more, with some nearing double digits.'
The stock of India's largest listed pure-play retail company, Avenue Supermarts (DMart), has slipped over 10 per cent from its monthly highs. A weak operational performance in the fourth quarter (January-March) of financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25) and muted near-term outlook due to intense competitive pressures and higher costs could lead to downward momentum on the stock. While the stock dipped by 3.44 per cent in early trade on Monday, it recovered a bit to close 1.07 per cent lower at 4,017.
'While we expand into other areas, banca remains our primary channel, and we continue to be a banca-led organisation.'
'While investors believe in India's long-term growth story and resilience amid global uncertainty, they see near-term risks around the direction of a global trade war.'
Stock markets are in for an event-heavy week ahead with a raft of Q1 earnings from blue-chips, the US Fed interest rate decision and foreign investors trading activity driving investors' sentiment, analysts said. Macroeconomic data announcements, monthly auto sales numbers and global market trends would also guide movement in the domestic equities, they said.
Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 31,575 crore from the country's equity markets so far this month, in the wake of turbulence emanating from sweeping tariffs imposed by the US on most nations, including India. This came following a net investment of Rs 30,927 crore in the six trading sessions from March 21 to March 28. This infusion helped reduce the overall outflow for March to Rs 3,973 crore, according to data from the depositories.
Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL) has been the best-performing auto stock over the last three months, gaining over 17 per cent during this period. Multiple tailwinds, especially on the rural front, are expected to boost its volumes. In addition to the demand drivers, new launches too should help drive growth both in the commuter and premium motorcycle categories.
India's top information- technology (IT) services companies, all cash-rich, have been tightfisted about ploughing back their earnings in new projects or acquisitions and the bulk of the profits have been distributed to shareholders through dividend and share buybacks. In the past 10 years (that is, excluding the current one), the firms have reinvested in growth and expansion only around 13.5 per cent of the cash flow generated from their operations.
'MIB which is a part of retail, will grow in the range of 20 per cent.'
With demand for information-technology (IT) services in North America still sluggish, Europe has become a source of optimism for Indian companies because it is delivering steady gains over the past two years and continuing to outperform in the latest quarter. Yet analysts caution a full-scale revival will require a rebound in the United States (US), particularly in manufacturing, retail, and BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance), because Europe contributes only about a third of the revenues.
'Afterwards, some improvement is expected.'
There's no change in Apple Inc's India strategy, said a top government source. 'It can only be enhanced'.
Defence stocks have been on a tear, with the Nifty India Defence index hitting all-time highs. Over the past week, the index jumped around 7 per cent, far outpacing the flat performance of the Nifty 50. Over the past month, its 12 per cent gain has trebled the benchmark's return.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent, marking the first reduction in five years. The central bank also projected GDP growth for fiscal year 2026 at 6.7 percent and inflation to come down to 4.2 percent in FY26 from 4.8 percent in FY25. The RBI said the global economic backdrop remains challenging but the Indian economy continues to remain strong and resilient.
India's net direct tax collections contracted 1.3 per cent to about 5.63 trillion as of July 10, with corporate taxes dropping 3.7 per cent and non-corporate taxes recording a fractional 0.04 per cent contraction, Income Tax department data released on Friday revealed.
Key benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined for the third session in a row on Friday, dropping nearly 1 per cent, dragged by heavy selling in IT, auto and energy stocks. Tariff-related uncertainties amid mixed global market trends also added to the pressure, analysts said. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 689.81 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 82,500.47.
'Our new business premium is around Rs 700 crore, which we want to take to Rs 2,000 crore.'
Reliance Jio, India's biggest telecom operator, is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) and listing on bourses in the first half of 2026, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said on Friday. Jio is currently a unit of Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company.
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.
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Finance Bill 2025, along with 35 government amendments, including one that abolishes a 6 per cent digital tax on online advertisements.
Communication channels between India and the US are open to resolve the ongoing tariff issues, and the glitch in trade ties is only temporary, given the long-term relationship between the two nations, government sources said on Wednesday. The US' 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports to America came into effect from August 27, barring a few sectors.
India fully utilised its military modernisation budget in 2024-2025 -- the first time in five years -- and signed a record Rs 2 trillion defence contracts.
Information technology (IT) stocks ended at their lowest in nearly nine months after a fresh bout of selling, triggered by concerns over a recession in the US, the key market for domestic software exporters. A report by Morgan Stanley citing risks to growth also weighed on sentiment.
'Every delay directly increases the cost burden on developers. Land holding charges, financing costs, and compliance expenses escalate as approvals drag on.'
Several executives argue that UPI has the potential to grow tenfold, but warn that the absence of a monetisation model risks stagnating the real-time payments system, which has been recording all-time-high transaction volumes every year.
Automobile giant Tata Motors' shares were in demand on Wednesday as the stock rallied as much as 3.69 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 671.80 per share, before settling 3.18 per cent higher at Rs 668.45. By comparison, the BSE Sensex settled 0.10 per cent, or 72.56 points, lower at 74,029.76.
"My understanding is that the rules are weighted in favour of big cars, even though smaller cars emit fewer emissions per passenger, use less material, and consume less fuel," Bhargava said in an interview with Business Standard.
Net profit of 19 listed banks is likely to decline by 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) for the quarter ended March (Q4FY25) mainly due to pressure on net interest margins (NIM) as a result of rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to analysts' estimates. Additionally, loan growth is expected to further slowdown amid low demand in certain secured products, stress in the unsecured segment, and a high cost to deposit (CD) ratio across the system.
Mixed views were expressed by top economists on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision to hold the repo rate at 5.5% and maintain a neutral stance. While some say the decision was as expected and one more rate reduction is expected this fiscal, there is also a view that rate cut by MPC was warranted given the evolving global situation.
Prices for Indian consumers are expected to come down significantly from the current Rs 17,000-Rs 26,000 monthly.
'Advanced skills is such a broad spectrum that a simple prompt engineer to a critical upper end LLM developer are clubbed under one.' 'In addition, some include their non-technical employees who can use AI tools under this talent base.'
Stocks of brokerages and market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) witnessed selling pressure after the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) crackdown on proprietary trading firm Jane Street. The weakness was attributed to concerns that debarment of the US firm - a prominent player in the futures and options (F&O) segment - will lead to a further decline in volumes, which are already down over 30 per cent from the peak.
'Our AI strategy -- AI in Everything, Everything for AI, and AI for Everyone -- is now in action.'
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.
