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, 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 marginally higher on Wednesday as a sharp decline in IT blue-chip stocks restricted the rally in the markets.
The recent correction suggests that while precious metals hedge geopolitical tension and inflation, they are not immune to sharp short-term corrections and profit-booking.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has topped the Perpetual Capital Hurun India Impact 50 - 2026 list with 53.9 points (on the scale of 0-100), reflecting a strong performance across key sustainable development goals (SDGs), including climate, water, circularity, gender and biodiversity.
'The real risk is not that AI will fail to transform India's economy.'
'The risk is that it already is -- while our measurement systems continue to look the other way,' observes Nishant Sahdev, a theoretical physicist at the University of North Carolina.
Under an Executive Order issued by the US administration on July 30, 2025, goods valued above USD 100 will be subject to customs duties in America with effect from August 29 onwards.
As India's biggest Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app PhonePe prepares to list, the updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) shows the impact of regulations on the business, and concentration of payments-linked revenue even as UPI lacks MDR (merchant discount rate).
Banks cannot treat compliance as a quarter-end activity, and must have stronger operational discipline and data governance throughout the year, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J said in a speech at the Third Annual Global Conference of the College of Supervisors.
Leading non-banking financial company (NBFC) Shriram Finance on Friday said Japan-based MUFG Bank would invest Rs 39,618 crore, or $4.4 billion, to acquire a 20 per cent stake on a fully diluted basis through a preferential issue of equity shares.
'I disagree with much of Modi's politics, but it cannot be denied that in these years in office, he has carved more than a niche for himself in history,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Gross GST collections rose 6.2 per cent to a three-month high of over Rs 1.93 lakh crore in January, indicating increased consumption is making up for rate cuts late last year, sources said on Sunday.
India was being evaluated for a potential weight of around 1 per cent in the index, an allocation that could have translated into $25 billion of inflows, spread over roughly 10 months.
The Union health ministry has issued draft rules to mandate a blue vertical strip on all antimicrobial drug labels, aiming to rein in over-the-counter misuse and tackle India's growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problem.
India and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced the conclusion and finalisation of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA).
Software services major Wipro on Wednesday said its BPO has been rated among the top global Finance and Accounting (F&A) service providers by analyst firm HfS Research.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
The Indian services sector growth touched an 11 month high in July, supported by a pickup in new exports orders and sharp rise in overall sales, a monthly survey said on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index was at 60.5 in July, little-changed from 60.4 in June, and the rate of expansion was the best seen since August 2024.
IT services major Wipro on Friday reported a 7 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,119 crore in the third quarter of FY26, weighed by a one-time provisional impact of Rs 302.8 crore due to the implementation of new Labour Codes.
'The bigger unknown remains global geopolitics, which is inherently unpredictable, including developments in our neighbourhood.' 'Another concern is the increasing tilt of government finances towards welfare subsidies, especially at the state level.' 'This could constrain capital expenditure, which is critical for long-term growth.'
From the 30-Sensex firms, HDFC Bank, Infosys, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries were among the biggest laggards. In contrast, Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
FDI inflows into India are expected to register robust growth in 2026, supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, big-ticket investment announcements, sustained efforts to improve the ease of doing business, and a new generation of investment-linked trade pacts.
According to multiple sources close to the development, Mercedes-Benz is already in talks with multiple developers in Gurugram for a luxury branded residence project.
India's $280-billion IT industry heads into 2026, balancing visa-related headwinds and global trade uncertainty against its biggest-ever push into artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of global capability centres (GCCs). Heightened scrutiny of the US H-1B visa programme - including a proposed $100,000 fee for new visas and concerns over a potential 25 per cent outsourcing tax - has complicated cross-border delivery for Indian firms, even as companies accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on onsite staffing.
While many areas compete for resources, defence, education, and adaptation deserve focus for maximum impact, suggests Laveesh Bhandari.
The government's flagship Khelo India programme received an allocation of Rs 924.35 crore.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed Parliament, urging unity on national issues like 'Viksit Bharat', swadeshi, and national security. She highlighted government initiatives and the nation's progress.
A host of macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would dictate investors' sentiment in the stock market this week, analysts said. Besides, auto sales data will be closely tracked, experts noted.
Form and familiarity favour India in T20 World Cup
Harmanpreet Singh, Smriti Mandhana, Divya Deshmukh among five Indian stars nominated for BBC awards
Taxpayers should consider ITR-U if they omitted income, wrongly claimed deductions or exemptions, or made reporting errors that led to a shortfall in tax payment.
'The trade deficit in some sectors is huge and that is an area of opportunity to localise.'
Foreign investors have remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget amid expectations of limited policy changes.
Vijay Amritraj gets Padma Bhushan; Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur receive Padma Shri
When we took the aaram se test, we found that it did offer huge head and leg room and a wee bit more space than what the prevailing autorickshaws offer.
Pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) reported a 14 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,210 crore in the December quarter of FY 2025-26 (Q3FY26) on low sales of cancer drug Lenalidomide in the North American market. The firm's revenue from operations grew to Rs 8,727 crore in Q3FY26, a 4.4 per cent Y-o-Y increase from Rs 8,357 crore recorded for the same quarter last year.
Foreign investors fled Indian equities in 2025 at a scale never seen before, pulling out a record Rs 1.6 lakh crore (USD 18 billion) as volatile currency movements, global trade tensions, especially potential US tariffs, and stretched valuations eroded risk appetite, though flows are expected to turn sustainably positive in 2026.
Less than 12 per cent of the exits were from companies with Rs 10,000 crore in market capitalisation or above.
Bajaj Finserv on Thursday said it has completed the acquisition of Allianz SE's stake in Bajaj General Insurance and Bajaj Life Insurance, worth Rs 12,190 crore and Rs 9,200 crore, respectively. Bajaj Finserv, along with Bajaj Holdings & Investment and Jamnalal Sons, acquired the foreign insurer's 23 per cent stake in the businesses, marking the largest transaction in the Indian insurance sector.
Gold and silver prices are poised to maintain their record-setting rally in the coming week as investors focus on global inflation data and key macroeconomic indicators that shape central bank policy paths, analysts said.
