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The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a 14-month low of 3.8 per cent in December 2023, on account of poor performance of sectors like crude oil, electricity, steel and cement, according to the official data released on Wednesday. The core sector (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity) growth in November was 7.9 per cent. It was 8.3 per cent in December 2022.
Shares of Oil marketing companies (OMCs) extended their gains for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday after crude oil prices plunged to six-month lows in the international markets, which boosted investor sentiments. Traders said the OMC stocks gained with crude oil prices hovering below $70 per barrel after OPEC-plus decision to increase output from April, a move which is expected to favour Indian refiners with added marketing margins on retail fuel.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Steel were the major laggards. PowerGrid, Sun Pharmaceuticals, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Asian Paints, Nestle India, Titan, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were among the gainers.
The output of eight core sectors jumped by 56.1 per cent in April mainly due to a low base effect and uptick in production of natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity, official data released on Monday showed. The eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had contracted by 37.9 per cent in April 2020 due to lockdown restrictions imposed to control the spread of coronavirus infection. In March this year, the eight sectors had recorded a growth rate of 11.4 per cent.
Investors' sentiments will be guided by a host of domestic and global macroeconomic data announcements this week, along with the trading activity of foreign investors and trends in world stocks, analysts said. Besides, the rupee-dollar trend and movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude will also be crucial in dictating terms in the market, experts added.
Wholesale price inflation eased to 2.05 per cent in March, as against 2.38 per cent in February, government data showed on Tuesday. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation, however, rose year-on-year.
In a data-packed week, the domestic macroeconomic figures -- industrial production and inflation numbers -- along with global trends would dictate trends in the equity market this week, analysts said. According to experts, markets may face volatile trends due to high valuations. Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty hit their fresh record peaks on Thursday. Besides, trading activity of foreign investors, movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude and rupee-dollar trend would also influence trading in equities.
All the BSE sectoral indices closed in the green. BSE Realty, Auto, Capital Goods and Industrials were lead gainers, jumping up to 5 per cent. IndusInd Bank was the lead gainer among Sensex shares, surging by 6.84 per cent. Tata Motors rallied 4.50 per cent. Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and HCL Tech were also among the gainers. ITC and Hindustan Unilever were the only laggards.
Updated new base years for national accounts and other macro-indicators are expected to come into effect from January-February 2026, coinciding with the first and second advance estimates of national income for FY26, senior official sources aware of the development told Business Standard. "The statistics ministry set up the Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics (ACNAS) earlier this week. "It will advise on the base year for GDP (gross domestic product) and its alignment with other macro-indicators.
The weakening of inflation, prospects of economic growth, geopolitical uncertainty and comfortable system liquidity may result in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut the repo rate by another 25 basis points, opine top economists. They also said the external economic pressures like trade policies and others would require continued RBI's accommodative stance and policy support for the Indian industry to sustain the growth.
The growth was primarily driven by domestic investments, which accounted for 60 per cent of the total inflows during the first quarter of the financial year.
From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Asian Paints were among the laggards. Reliance Industries fell the most by 2.38 per cent to close at Rs 1,171.10 apiece.
From the 30-share Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra and Power Grid were among the gainers. Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, ITC, Nestle, Reliance Industries and HCL Tech were among the laggards.
The manufacturing sector, which constitute more than 77 per cent of the index, recorded a growth of 5.2 per cent in April, up from 2.9 per cent in the year ago month.
India's industrial production growth slowed down for a fourth straight month in December to 0.4 per cent mainly due to a poor performance by the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing sector, which constitutes 77.63 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contracted by 0.1 per cent in December, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday. In December 2021, the mining output rose by 2.6 per cent, and power generation increased by 2.8 per cent.
Led by healthy growth in coal, crude oil, fertilisers, cement and electricity production, output of eight core industries grew to a 13-month high of 18.1 per cent in May this year, according to official data released on Thursday. The growth of core infrastructure sectors expanded by 16.4 per cent in the year-ago period and 9.3 per cent in April this year. The last high growth was recorded in April 2021 when it was 62.6 per cent.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to 6.7 per cent in February, compared to the same month in 2023, on account of poor performance of some sectors like fertiliser, according to official data released on Thursday. However, the growth rate is higher than January this year.
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.
'Selling could further intensify and take the index towards 22,800-22,750 in the near-term.'
Market reaction to the Union Budget was overall neutral. The income tax "gift" wasn't enough to move the needle. There was some apparent rationalisation of Customs duty structure as well as cuts on import duties of some key components for the telecom and IT industry and duty cuts on vehicle imports. Other proposals related to development of agriculture and rural economy and renewables seem to be generally positive.
Industrial production surged by 13.6 per cent in June mainly due to a low-base effect and good performance by manufacturing, mining and power sectors but the output remained below the pre-pandemic level. The manufacturing sector, which constitutes 77.63 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew by 13 per cent in June this year, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday. The mining sector output rose by 23.1 per cent in June while power generation increased by 8.3 per cent.
Electricity generation has outperformed the industrial production index for five months in a row this financial year, even as the broader economy is struggling to grow.
The eight key infrastructure sectors' growth rose by 6.3 per cent in May on healthy expansion in the production of coal, natural gas, and electricity, though the growth rate is lower than in April, according to official data released on Friday. The production of the eight sectors grew 6.7 per cent in April. The growth of these core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 5.2 per cent in May 2023.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a 15-month low of 3.6 per cent in January, on account of poor performance of sectors like refinery products, fertiliser, steel and electricity, according to the official data released on Thursday. The growth of eight core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.9 per cent in December. It was 9.7 per cent in January 2023.
Wouldn't it be better to reach 45 with a backup engine of passive income that helps you glide through these years instead of grinding, asks Ramalingam Kalirajan
India's manufacturing sector growth started the year 2025 on a strong footing and touched a six-month high in January, fuelled by the steepest upturn in exports in nearly 14 years, a monthly survey said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from December's one-year low of 56.4 to 57.7 in January supported by the fastest upturn in new export orders since February 2011.
Industry insiders in India warn that any such move in the pharmaceutical sector could be counterproductive for the US as it may face increased drug shortages if tariffs are imposed on such imports.
India's industrial production growth slowed to 3.8 per cent in January, while the February retail inflation at 5.09 per cent remained within the Reserve Bank's comfort zone for the sixth straight month, according to the latest government data. Growth in factory output, based on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), slowed to 3.8 per cent in January 2024, mainly due to poor performance of manufacturing, mining and power sectors, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.
The index could be vulnerable to a bigger fall given the present market dynamics.
The production of eight infrastructure sectors rose by 7.5 per cent in October on healthy performance by the segments of coal, natural gas, refinery products and cement, official data released on Tuesday showed. The output of eight core sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had contracted by 0.5 per cent in October 2020, according to the data released by the commerce and industry ministry. Core sectors' growth stood at 4.5 per cent in September this year.
Industrial production declined by 10.4 per cent in July, mainly due to lower output of manufacturing, mining and power generation, as per the government data released on Friday.
Industrial output maintained its double digit growth for the sixth consecutive month at 13.5 per cent in March, but was lower than expected.
Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said windfall tax on petroleum products, crude is not ad hoc, but being charged in regular consultation with the industry. Addressing an event organized online, the minister said it is unfair to call windfall tax as ad hoc, because the tax rate and its resetting are done in complete consultations with the industry. "The very idea was implemented after taking the industry into full confidence," she said at a function organised by Elara Capital.
In an eventful week ahead, stock markets may face volatile trends before the RBI's interest rate decision and the US inflation data announcements, as investors continue to assess the broader implications of US tariffs on global economy and inflation, analysts said. Investors fear that a full-blown trade war will impact global trade and economic growth, according to market experts.
The industrial production contracted by 1.2 per cent in February, compared to 9.5 per cent growth a year ago, despite stimulus packages announced by the government.
For the April-February period of 2012-13 fiscal, the industrial production growth is at 0.9 per cent, down from 3.5 per cent in the same period of 2011-12, according to official data released on Friday.
In a pointer to a slowdown in consumer demand, India's industrial production growth dipped to an 11-month low of 6.4 per cent this September, nearly half the September 2006 figure.
'Invest only in stocks of those companies that deliver on earnings and there is earnings visibility too for the next few quarters.'
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