Police in Navi Mumbai have dismantled a fraudulent call centre accused of swindling individuals out of over Rs 1 crore by falsely promising high returns on share market investments. Two individuals have been arrested, and investigations are ongoing.
Macroeconomic data, global geopolitical developments and rising concerns over AI-related disruptions are likely to dictate sentiment in the stock market next week, even as investors may remain cautious amid ongoing volatility, according to analysts.
'India has initiated a bear market and we will still go lower. It has nothing to do with the economy.'
The global artificial intelligence (AI) boom has significantly reshaped equity markets, with Taiwan surpassing India to become the world's fifth-largest stock market. India has seen its market capitalisation decline by 7% year-to-date, while AI-linked economies like Taiwan and South Korea have surged.
Investors are keenly awaiting clarity on Reliance Jio Infocomm's IPO, the company's AI and data centre strategies, and next-generation leadership structure at Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL's) 49th annual general meeting (AGM).
As the rupee weakens, wealthy families are accelerating investments in global assets.
'In India's case, an extended earnings slowdown accompanied by rich valuations have dimmed returns since late 2024.'
The unprecedented rally in artificial intelligence (AI)-linked stocks has led to Indian companies being excluded from the top 10 constituents of the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Index for the first time in over two decades, raising concerns about concentration risk.
Public sector banks in India are increasing their IT spending to bolster cybersecurity measures in response to concerns about Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI tool and its potential to exploit vulnerabilities in financial systems.
Investors should do thorough due diligence when selecting a platform.
Foreign investors have remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget amid expectations of limited policy changes.
'The real money in India over the coming period is likely to be made in small-cap stocks rather than in the large-cap benchmark names.'
A software engineer earning a high salary allegedly abandoned his career to run a fake online trading racket, duping investors of nearly Rs 100 crore.
He alleged that besides Modi and Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also commented on the stock markets ahead of elections, which has never happened in the past.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have withdrawn Rs 14,231 crore from Indian equities so far in May, extending the total outflow for 2026 to over Rs 2 lakh crore, driven by persistent global macroeconomic uncertainties including inflation, interest rates, and geopolitical risks.
Major US technology companies, Meta and LinkedIn, are undergoing significant workforce restructuring, with Meta planning to lay off 8,000 employees while shifting 7,000 into AI-focused roles, and LinkedIn cutting over 600 jobs across various departments.
Fixed deposits from nationalised banks delivered higher returns than equities, outperforming both inflation and stock market benchmarks.
Indian IT stocks have seen a significant decline of up to 33 per cent year-to-date in 2026, largely due to artificial intelligence (AI) disrupting traditional outsourcing models, leading analysts to predict a challenging FY27 for the sector despite some cushion from rupee depreciation.
A fall in the Nifty 50 to around 19,000 is not impossible, but that would likely require nuclear options to be exercised.
India's top 16 IT services companies distributed a record 1.3 trillion to shareholders in FY26 through dividends and share buybacks, a 36.3 per cent increase from FY25, even as the industry grappled with AI-driven business model threats and a significant decline in market capitalisation.
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
India should not stay on the margins of this initiative. There should be a serious debate about what would be in India's best interests asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'The day that the market realises that they've overspent (on AI) and there's a sudden collapse in the capex, then India can start outperforming again.'
The government has information that terror groups have been investing money in Indian stock markets, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said on Friday.
Fears around artificial intelligence (AI) sparked a global selloff in information technology (IT) stocks, dragging down domestic software shares and prompting the heaviest foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows since the second half of July 2025.
Wipro reported Q4FY26 IT services revenue of $2.6 billion, a modest 0.2 per cent Q-o-Q constant currency growth, with adjusted operating profit margin beating estimates at 17.2 per cent. The company announced a significant share buyback of ~15,000 crore, but faces near-term growth challenges, particularly in the BFSI segment, and has issued a soft Q1FY27 revenue guidance.
'The danger is that when the music stops, the fall will be sudden, faster, and deeper than anyone expects,' warns Debashis Basu.
'Once the currency goes out of the hand, then possibly your major challenge is that it will not come back.'
Take calculated, not blind risks, suggests Ramalingam K.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Trent, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers. On the other hand, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC Bank were the laggards.
Wipro has announced the launch of a dedicated AI-Native Business and Platforms unit, leading to a leadership shuffle with Nagendra Bandaru appointed as CEO and Kanwar Singh joining as President and Managing Partner of Technology Services GBL.
The India-US trade deal has offered a much-needed breather for the Indian information technology (IT) industry, which has been grappling with global macroeconomic uncertainty and subdued client spending over the past few years.
'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.'
'Oil is still well below its all-time highs, and the world is gradually running out of known reserves.'
Infosys shares experienced a significant drop, hitting a 52-week low, after the company announced its Q4FY26 results and provided a modest revenue growth guidance of 1.5-3.5 per cent in constant currency for FY27, falling below market expectations and raising concerns about AI-led deflation and margin pressures.
Home Minister's statement regarding the investment of terrorist funds in the stock market is yet another wake up call.
Following a ban on real-money gaming, Dream Sports, the parent company of Dream11, is strategically expanding its portfolio across 11 companies, including a new venture into wealth management and stockbroking, with a focus on serving a mass user base through AI-first solutions, cofounder Harsh Jain confirmed.
The big question is whether Trump is any longer in command of the situation. For all practical purposes, the war seems set to cascade as the US is preparing for a potential ground operation in Iran and threatens to destroy 'bridges next, then electric power plants', points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Leading stock exchange BSE on Monday cautioned investors to remain vigilant against deepfake video of its CEO giving stock recommendations and investment advice on social media platforms. The exchange emphasised that the video is unauthorised and fraudulent, and its officials are not permitted to provide any stock tips.
Strong performance in the beauty and personal care (BPC) segment, margin gains, and expectations of a breakeven in the fashion business lifted sentiment for FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa). The consumer technology platform's stock rose 7.5 per cent on Friday, extending gains over the past week to more than 17 per cent. Most brokerages have upgraded the stock following its third-quarter (October-December/Q3) performance and higher profit expectations ahead.
