Why try to time the market when time in the market works better? History shows that patient investors who stay the course often walk away with the real rewards, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Roughly 40% of this projected outlay is expected to go towards emerging industries, including green hydrogen, clean energy, semiconductors, and electric vehicles.
Quarterly earnings of corporates, trading activity of foreign investors and inflation data are the key factors that are expected to drive the momentum in the equity markets this week, analysts said.
rediffGURU Ulhas Joshi answers your mutual fund queries.
As the results season kicks in, the quarterly earnings numbers of several blue-chip firms -- such as Infosys and Reliance Industries -- along with global trends and trading activity of foreign investors, will determine equity market movement in the holiday-shortened week ahead, according to analysts. The domestic WPI inflation data for June -- scheduled to be announced on Monday -- will also influence trading sentiments, traders said. Markets will remain closed on Wednesday for Muharram.
Corporate India's struggle with subdued revenue and earnings growth persisted in the October-December quarter of 2024-25 (Q3FY25). The combined net sales (gross interest earnings for lenders) of listed companies grew in single digits for the seventh consecutive quarter, while their combined net profit rose by a single digit for the third straight quarter.
'Health and motor insurance will continue to be our two most important segments'
Messaging app Telegram has taken decisive action against bots that were reported for sharing sensitive data related to Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, and is actively keeping an eye on their re-emergence, a company statement said. "The bots reported to Telegram for sharing Star Health data were immediately removed and moderators are monitoring to prevent them from being recreated. "The sharing of private information on Telegram is expressly forbidden and such content is deleted whenever it is found," the statement said.
HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank remained among the top mutual fund (MF) buys for the second consecutive month in September. MFs deployed a net of Rs 15,000 crore into these stocks during the two-month period (August-September), revealed Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research reports.
India has slipped two places on the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap index to 129th place, while Iceland retained its top position in the rankings published on Wednesday. Within South Asia, India was ranked fifth after Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, while Pakistan was ranked last. Globally, Sudan was ranked last on the index of 146 countries, while Pakistan slipped three places to 145th.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday retained the retail inflation projection at 4.5 per cent for fiscal 2024-25, with Governor Shaktikanta Das stressing that the central bank will have to closely monitor the price situation and keep the "inflation horse" under tight leash lest it may bolt again. Unveiling the October bi-monthly monetary policy, the Governor also said the flexible inflation targeting (FIT) framework has completed 8 years since its introduction in 2016 and is a major structural reform of the 21st century in India.
Towards the end of February, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restored the risk weighting on banks loans to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs; including to microfinance institutions, or MFIs) to 100 - back to its November 2023 position - from 125. It is only a partial relief though. "Higher risk weighting on unsecured lending continues to be in place while the same on bank funding to NBFCs has been done away with. "This is a positive step by RBI," says Rajiv Sabharwal, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Tata Capital.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
rediffGURU Yogendra Arora answers readers' personal income tax queries.
The Union Budget 2025-26, while promising a new framework for smoother mergers and acquisitions (M&As), has plugged a major loophole on carry-forward losses for a total of eight assessment years between amalgamating company and amalgamated company from the date of loss instead of date of the merger. For all mergers effected on or after April 1, 2025, the losses can be carried forward only for the residuary period (counting from the date of loss).
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The average cost of data breaches in India reached $2.18 million in 2023, marking a 28 per cent increase since 2020, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Currency and Finance report for 2023-24. The report said that India's average data breach cost was still below the global average. The most common attacks in India are phishing which was at 22 per cent and stolen or compromised credentials was 16 per cent. The automotive industry is highly vulnerable to cyber attacks, whereas the banking and financial services sector, benefiting from stringent regulations, enjoys comparatively stronger protection.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
In a relief for foreign firms giving loans to Indian subsidiaries, tax authorities have said goods and services tax (GST) will not be imposed on them, subject to some caveats. Additional fees, commissions, or related payments - over and above the amount charged as interest - on these loans will attract GST at 18 per cent, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has said.
Foreign investors continued their relentless selling in the Indian equity markets in August, offloading shares worth Rs 21,201 crore due to the unwinding of the yen carry trade, recession fears in the US and ongoing geopolitical conflicts. This came after an inflow of Rs 32,365 crore in July and Rs 26,565 crore in June, data with the depositories showed.
Worries related to the Iran-Israel conflict, quarterly earnings and foreign investors' trading activity are the key factors that would dictate stock markets this week, analysts said. Besides, trends in Brent crude oil and movement of the rupee against the dollar will also be crucial factors. This week will be crucial for the market amid ongoing worries about the conflict between Iran and Israel, said Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst, Swastika Investmart Ltd.
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday said the FY25 Budget demonstrated the government's ongoing commitment to reducing fiscal deficit and ensured policy continuity during the NDA government's new term. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented the first Budget of the Modi 3.0 government in which she revised the deficit target for current fiscal lower to 4.9 per cent of the GDP, from 5.1 per cent projected in the interim Budget.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has removed the age cap on buying health insurance policies, effective from April 1, 2024. Earlier, individuals were restricted to purchasing new insurance policies only until the age of 65. However, after the recent changes that have come into effect from April 01, 2024, anyone, regardless of age, is eligible to purchase a new health insurance.
The Group of Ministers (GoM) on goods and services tax (GST) rate rationalisation, which convened in Goa on Wednesday, reviewed the GST rates for over 100 items, including textiles, handloom goods, agricultural products, fertilisers, and educational materials. However, no consensus was reached on any of the items, with further discussions scheduled for next month in Delhi.
Finance ministers of states demanded an increase in allocation under 50-year interest-free loan scheme, while fiscally stressed states like Punjab and Kerala pitched for a special package and borrowing flexibility, sources said on Friday. In a pre-budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, states have also urged for higher borrowing limits to support fiscal activities, besides additional funds for Jal Jeevan Mission.
A teacher of a private coaching institute in Madhya Pradesh's Indore was stripped and beaten up on Wednesday by a group of people, who later took him to a police station for allegedly indulging in obscene acts with a 17-year-old girl preparing for NEET exam, an official said.
Reserve Bank has directed banks to provide their eligible customers with an option to choose from multiple card networks at the time of issuing credit or debit cards, a move which will benefit card users. The central bank also asked issuers of credit cards not to enter into any arrangement or agreement with card networks that restrain customers from availing the services of other networks.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday approved a Rs 2.11 lakh crore dividend payout to the central government for 2023-24, more than double the amount it paid for the previous 2022-23 financial year. The decision was taken at the 608th meeting of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India held under the chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das.
'In the past six months, capital markets have seen a dip, and realty is struggling. The stock-market investor will be cautious of putting that investment in real estate when there may be a slowdown coming.'
Flipkart-backed super.money is on an expansion spree and plans to expand its range of offerings in credit and wealth management after launching its operations in July this year. The Bengaluru-based fintech company is on track to roll out credit products such as credit on Unified Payments Interface (UPI), unsecured credit cards, and personal loans within the first half of the next calendar year (2025).
As a year of despair and darkness comes to a welcome end, Rediff.com wishes every reader all the very best for a HEALTHY, HAPPY, PEACEFUL, PROSPEROUS, SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL 2021.
Their one-liners are pithy, sharp and can never be forgotten. Happy Teacher's Day, Dear Teacher.
Movement in the stock market this week will largely be driven by global trends, macroeconomic data announcements and trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. Equity benchmark indices, which are on a dream run for the past several days, will also track trading in global oil benchmark Brent crude and movement of rupee against the US dollar. "The next FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting is scheduled for mid-September, but before that, the market will be closely watching upcoming US economic data.
Seven journalists were incarcerated in India in 2021 and 2022, the highest in three decades.
India's unemployment rate is at a record low and the country's labour market is undergoing a structural transformation, a report said on Tuesday. In the new report, the economists at the country's largest lender SBI also pitched for a "reinterpretation of old fashioned rhetoric" while looking at a subject like employment. "India's unemployment rate is at a record low, India's labour market is undergoing a deep structural transformation with self-entrepreneurship across all echelons and higher educational attainment emerging as key enablers," the report said.
Who says romance is dead in the age of coronavirus?
As regards mid-caps and small-caps, analysts suggest investors buy only those stocks of those companies where there is earnings visibility for at least a few quarters and where the valuations have become reasonable.
India's bank credit remains resilient and is showing no signs of systematic risk, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Michael Patra said on Monday. A copy of the speech was uploaded on the RBI website on Thursday. "Bank credit is monitored as a lead indicator of overheating. Our assessment, based on a menu of approaches, indicates that current rates of credit expansion are not pointing to systemic stress building up. Illustratively, the credit gap - the difference between the credit to GDP ratio and its trend - is currently negative," said Patra, while delivering a speech in Cambodia.
GST collection in May rose 12 per cent to Rs 1.57 lakh crore, the finance ministry said on Thursday. The gross Good & Services Tax (GST) revenue collected in the month of May, 2023 is Rs 1,57,090 crore of which Central GST is Rs 28,411 crore, State GST is Rs 35,828 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 81,363 crore (including Rs 41,772 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 11,489 crore (including Rs 1,057 crore collected on import of goods).
Net inflows were $18.4 billion for the rolling 12-month period ended January 2024 compared to $32.7 billion for the rolling 12-month period ended January 2023.
