Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty experienced declines due to a sharp rally in crude oil prices, continuous foreign fund outflows, and geopolitical uncertainties. Regulatory developments in the banking sector, particularly the implementation of the Expected Credit Loss (ECL) framework, also contributed to the selling pressure.
Indian defence stocks have seen an average year-on-year gain of 67 per cent, driven by renewed interest following 'Operation Sindoor' and a broader increase in global geopolitical tensions, with the combined market capitalisation of 18 firms increasing by approximately 2.3 trillion.
'We are targeting a 2.5x to 3x increase in valuation by FY31.'
Indian markets on Dalal Street rallied sharply as easing tensions in the US-Iran conflict and stable oil prices boosted sentiment. Track Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex performance and key global triggers.
India should resist knee-jerk responses to tariff volatility in the US and instead use the current geopolitical churn to build manufacturing scale at home, former G20 Sherpa and former chief executive officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
Even as the benchmark and broader indices were down sharply on Monday due to escalating tensions in West Asia, the Nifty Defence index ended the session in the green.
Goldman Sachs is bullish about Indian aerospace and defence, preferring private companies over public sector units (PSUs) as the country ramps up its export target for the sector to Rs 50,000 crore by FY29 from Rs 23,600 crore last year. The American investment bank's top 'buy' recommendations include Solar Industries, Bharat Electronics, Data Patterns and PTC Industries, while Bharat Dynamics is rated 'sell'.
Sectoral funds, focused exclusively on public sector banks (PSBs), have delivered the strongest returns among domestic mutual fund (MF) categories over the past six months. However, active banking funds have significantly lagged because of their heavy tilt towards private lenders.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies eroded by Rs 9,40,581.75 crore to Rs 4,50,61,658.60 crore (USD 4.90 trillion) in a single day.
'LIC will reduce but not fully exit its stake in IDBI Bank, which remains an important bancassurance partner,' says LIC of India' MD and CEO R Doraiswamy.
Investors and startup executives are calling for extending the period for an entity to be recognised as a startup from 10 to 15 years for deep-tech companies.
A penalty of Rs 91 lakh has been imposed on HDFC Bank for violating certain provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. The penalty has been imposed on the private sector lender for deficiencies in statutory and regulatory compliance, including those related to Know Your Customer (KYC).
Bank lending to companies is expected to go up in the coming quarters because the difference in interest rates between corporate bonds and bank loans has narrowed. In addition, recent policy reforms by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), including allowing domestic banks to do acquisition financing, are expected to give further support to corporate lending, analysts said.
The country's largest IT services company TCS on Monday reported 13.91 per cent decline in December quarter net profit at Rs 10,657 crore. The Tata Group company had posted a net profit of Rs 12,380 crore in the October-December period of FY25 and Rs 12,075 crore in the preceding September quarter.
The domestic initial public offering (IPO) market is experiencing a significant surge, fuelled by the financialisation of savings, digital ease of investing, and expanding participation from both retail and institutional investors, investment bankers said on Wednesday.
The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector has moved back into focus for investors this calendar year, after lagging the broader market for two consecutive years. BFSI stocks have outperformed benchmark indices in 2025 so far, driving a steady rise in the sector's weighting within the Nifty 50 index.
India's market regulator is moving ahead to include real estate investment trusts (Reits) in benchmark indices in a phased manner, Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, while asserting that the regulator was working to strengthen the link between infrastructure building and the markets.
After a year of modest returns, equity investors may anticipate gains of 10-15 per cent in Samvat 2082, which began on October 21. Although valuations have moderated from their peaks a year earlier, they remain above long-term averages, potentially limiting sharp upsides.
'We operate in an economy that is structurally positioned for long-term growth. As market levels rise over time, our AUM grows in line.'
Sanctioning Russian oil would have led to a sharp surge in oil prices to above $80 per barrel levels, which would impact pump prices in the US ahead of midterm elections next year.
Among Sensex firms, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Eternal and ITC were the major laggards. Selling in HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank also dragged the key indices. However, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
'The danger is that when the music stops, the fall will be sudden, faster, and deeper than anyone expects,' warns Debashis Basu.
The rupee continued to face pressure in the first half of the current financial year (FY26), hitting fresh lows against the dollar, due to strengthening of the greenback, rising crude oil prices, and foreign outflows. Rupee has depreciated by 3.7 per cent so far in the current financial year after starting at a good note in April.
IPOs have been the flavour of the season for some time. But the coming together of three mega IPOs, from diverse businesses and historic relevance, could tell a story that's still in the making, points out Nivedita Mookerji.
'Indian refiners can operate without Russian crude from a technical standpoint, but the shift would involve major economic and strategic trade-offs'
The Supreme Court acknowledged a clean chit from a special investigation team (SIT) regarding the Vantara zoological rescue and rehabilitation centre in Gujarat's Jamnagar, following allegations of irregularities.
Despite facing financial constraints, Kerala has been able to invest in welfare schemes and targeted programmes.
India's economy is expected to grow 6.4-6.7 per cent during the current financial year driven by strong domestic demand, even as geopolitical uncertainty poses downside risks, the newly appointed CII president Rajiv Memani said on Thursday.
All public sector banks have moved to such a regime voluntarily, while private banks are yet to. The state-run banks have introduced repo-linked products for floating-rate home and auto loans, but the RBI said loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) should also be linked to an external benchmark.
From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Titan, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Infosys and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the biggest laggards. On the other hand, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Eternal and Hindustan Unilever were among the gainers.
In Q1FY26, the bank reported fresh slippages of 8,200 crore, up 71 per cent Y-o-Y and sequentially. Of this, 7,500 crore is from the retail segment.
Banks have outperformed the broader market in the past six months and most of the leading lenders have given positive returns to investors compared to a negative return delivered by benchmark indices.
The Human-rated LVM3 vehicle, the Crew Escape System and the Crew Module and Service Module are all in final stages of testing and integration.
Indian equity benchmarks rose nearly 2 per cent on Thursday, capping a truncated trading week with their strongest weekly performance in over four years. The rally was sparked by renewed risk-on sentiment following progress in trade negotiations and expanded tariff exemptions.
Stock markets will be driven by further developments on the US-China tariff war front along with quarterly earnings announcements from IT majors Wipro and Infosys in a holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Global market trends and trading activity of foreign investors would also dictate market movement this week, experts noted.
Among Sensex shares, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharmaceutical, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the gainers. Tata Motors, PowerGrid, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, NTPC, Tata Steel and Adani Ports were the major laggards.
The Supreme Court's ruling in the BPSL case exposes deep flaws in the IBC's institutional framework and raises concern about judicial overreach, notes Rajeswari Sengupta.
Since February 2025, the RBI has reduced the policy rate by 100 basis points. In its previous policy review in April, it had also trimmed the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6 per cent.
The Reserve Bank should focus on making liquidity easier rather than cutting rates if the intent is to drive growth, Axis Bank's chief economist Neelkanth Mishra said on Tuesday. Mishra, who is also a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM, said the rate cut announced earlier this month or even the subsequent ones if they were to come will not end up increasing borrowings as the scarce liquidity will hamper transmission.
Banks are set to make treasury gains in the fourth quarter of the current financial year (2024-25) as the yield on government bonds has softened so far this quarter, driven by strong inflows into the debt segment, market participants said. The yield on the 10-year benchmark government bond fell 8 basis points (bps) in the previous week - the steepest weekly decline in four months, since November 30, 2024 - to settle at 6.62 per cent.
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