Facing criticism from the government over the central bank prioritising inflation over growth, the new RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Monday said that prospects of the Indian economy are expected to improve on the back of high consumer and business confidence in 2025. "As we strive to preserve financial stability to support a higher growth path for the Indian economy, our focus remains steadfast on maintaining stability of financial institutions and, more broadly, systemic stability," Malhotra said in foreword to the Financial Stability Report.
Sluggish urban demand, a high base effect, and weak sales of hatchbacks and sedans weigh down passenger vehicle sales in FY25.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday said that this stage would have been "premature" and "very very risky" as the retail inflation is still high, and future monetary policy action would depend upon the income data and outlook. Earlier this month, the RBI continued to maintain the status quo in the short-term lending interest rate (repo), citing inflationary concerns, though it changed the monetary policy stance to neutral.
Passenger vehicle dispatches in India from factories to dealers rose to record levels at over 43 lakh units in FY25, with utility vehicles accounting for 65 per cent of the total sales in the segment, industry body SIAM said on Tuesday. Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches rose to 43,01,848 units in the last fiscal year, marking a 2 per cent increase compared to 42,18,750 units in FY 2023-24.
Gold prices slumped for the second straight session by Rs 1,150 to Rs 78,350 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday on frantic selling by stockists and retailers, the All India Sarafa Association said. The precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity closed at Rs 79,500 per 10 grams on Friday.
India has secured the second position, contributing 36 per cent of the total brand value, a significant achievement fuelled by a 14 per cent increase in brand value, according to Brand Finance 2025 ranking. India follows the US, which maintains its dominant position in IT services brand value, holding 40 per cent of the total brand value.
The volume of new fund offerings (NFOs) in 2025 will fluctuate based on market conditions. However, innovation is expected to continue unabated. With an increasing number of fund houses aiming to establish a presence in the 'factor' investing space and changes in fund-of-fund taxation providing more opportunities, several industry-first offerings are anticipated.
Proceeds from the sale will support the training of future generations of doctors at the Oslo University Hospital. The fascinating story behind the Husain painting which set a new record for modern Indian art.
Automobile giant Tata Motors' shares were in demand on Wednesday as the stock rallied as much as 3.69 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 671.80 per share, before settling 3.18 per cent higher at Rs 668.45. By comparison, the BSE Sensex settled 0.10 per cent, or 72.56 points, lower at 74,029.76.
2023 could be another volatile year for Indian equity markets, according to BofA. In a report, the brokerage pointed out that the Nifty50, at present, is trading at 20.7x against its long-term average of 18.8x one-year forward earnings of current Nifty constituents. Plus, India is trading at a 98 per cent premium to its emerging market (EM) peers against its long-term average of 45 per cent.
The rupee tumbled 3 per cent against the US dollar in 2024 as concerns over slower economic growth and a stronger greenback in global markets weighed, but it was among the least volatile currencies in the world and the headwinds may be less intense in the coming year.
Zomato emerged as the biggest gainer, followed by Reliance, Nestle, Asian Paints and Power Grid.
After registering a net profit of Rs 25.1 crore in Q3FY25 and consolidated revenues growing by 7 per cent on a like-for-like basis, Siddharth Mittal, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director, Biocon, told Sohini Das/Business Standard in a virtual interaction that local manufacturing in the US is a trade off between cost and qualifying to do business there.
The FMCG industry hopes for a revival in consumption growth in 2025 with some 'green shoots' already visible, after having a challenging year amid escalating input costs and a double-digit rise in food inflation, which ultimately slowed down the pace of the urban market growth in the second half of 2024. Soaring prices of commodities such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa and wheat forced FMCG players to go for a hike of 3 to 5 per cent or resort to shrinkflation by reducing pack sizes and grammage to retain attractive price points, fearing a volume loss.
'This market for diesel starts at around Rs 6.3 lakh and goes up to Rs 7 lakh, and with Saathi we have our usual price set at Rs 6.5 lakh, so we are slightly on the lower side with a superior product.'
India's healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors raised Rs 14,811 crore through initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2024, the largest since 2019, driven by strong domestic demand amid expanding global opportunities. According to data, key contributors to the record fundraising included Sai Life Sciences (Rs 3,043 crore), IKS Health (Rs 2,498 crore), and Sagility India (Rs 2,107 crore).
Global trends, macroeconomic data, and the outcome of the US Fed policy meeting are the major factors that will drive the movement in the domestic equity markets this week, analysts said. "In the upcoming data-centric week, the focus will be on crucial releases, including inflation data from India and the US. "Indian inflation is expected to rise, while US inflation will remain steady.
TVS Motor Company has been one of the best-performing two-wheeler stocks in the current financial year (FY24), enriching investors with gains of 24 per cent. Among listed two-wheeler stocks, only Hero MotoCorp has done better in this period. New launches, market share gains, steady margins and expectations that its performance will continue in FY24 are expected to support TVS Motor's stock.
'...similar to the 2008 global financial crisis, the 2012 taper tantrum, or the 2018 midcap crash.' 'This could lead to a substantial decline in activity and revenues for the broking industry.' 'When this will happen is uncertain, but as brokers, we must be prepared for such a downturn.'
After cement, billionaire Gautam Adani's group and Kumar Mangalam Birla's Aditya Birla Group are set for a face-off in the wires and cable business with both conglomerates announcing forays into the high double-digit growth sector.
With the rapid evolution of channels like quick-commerce and the emergence of ONDC, the Indian retail industry is 'cautiously optimistic' for 2025, in which new-age technologies such as AI and automation will play a crucial role, driving efficiency and personalisation.
Private consumption is back driven by festive spending, and the medium-term economic outlook remains bullish as the innate strength of the macro-fundamentals reasserts itself, the Reserve Bank Bulletin said on Wednesday. Global economic activity remained resilient during Q4:2024 amidst fragile confidence and rising protectionism, said an article on 'State of the Economy' published in the November Bulletin.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported very strong results for the January-March quarter of the last financial year (Q4FY24), beating consensus comfortably. The margins of the automobile business improved 170 basis points (bps) year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 8.8 per cent, while FES (Farm Equipment Sector) margins improved to 15.8 per cent (up 60 bps Y-o-Y), despite a decline in volumes due to cost optimisation and lower raw material costs.
All sectoral indices ended lower. BSE Telecommunication tanked 2.18 per cent, metal (1.77 per cent), auto (1.70 per cent), energy (1.64 per cent), oil & gas (1.59 per cent), commodities (1.39 per cent) and financial services (1.37 per cent) were the major laggards.
'In addition, we have geopolitics and politics and all the other things that will affect commodity prices.'
'India has always been a bottom-up stock-picking market, and as growth recovers with higher liquidity, mid and small-caps always tend to outperform.'
Led by a sharper-than-expected deceleration in industrial activity, economic growth in India slowed more than anticipated and is projected to remain at 6.5 per cent till 2026, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday. "Growth in India slowed more than expected, led by a sharper-than-expected deceleration in industrial activity," the IMF said in its latest update of the World Economic Outlook, according to which the global economy is holding steady. In 2023, India's growth rate was 8.2 per cent, which dropped to 6.5 per cent in 2024.
Automobile retail sales grew 9 per cent year on year in 2024 riding on the back of robust demand for two-wheelers and passenger vehicles amid challenging business environment, dealers' body FADA said on Tuesday. Overall vehicle registrations stood at 2,61,07,679 units last year as compared to 2,39,28,293 units in the 2023 calendar year, recording a growth of 9 per cent.
Why has a Reddit user's post -- where the user warns that 'even an IIM tag won't save you' -- created a storm online?
Better than expected performance in June quarter of the 2023-24 financial year (Q1FY24) and a robust outlook led to 1.2 per cent gain in Titan Company stock on Friday (July 7). The firm reported 20 per cent growth in revenues, aided by double-digit rise in its major consumer segments. Jewellery, its largest segment, accounting for about 90 per cent of its sales, stood out with a growth of 21 per cent over the year ago quarter.
'When Prime Minister Modi met President Trump, they agreed to initiate a bilateral trade dialogue.' 'It makes sense to give these negotiations a chance.'
Due to unseasonal rains, the second quarter of financial year 2023-24 (Q2FY24) was disappointing for the room-air conditioner (RAC) segment and Q3FY23 was also slow. While general consumption demand was low in Q3FY24, the low base and the pent-up demand from the first half of financial year 2023-24 (H1FY24) seem to have driven an off-season demand for RACs.
The week's losses wiped out investor wealth worth Rs 18.43 trillion, with the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms now at Rs 441 trillion.
The other prominent gainers were Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Wipro, State Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro. Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
Automobile retail sales in India declined 9 per cent year-on-year in September amid a massive buildup of passenger vehicle inventory due to sluggish demand, dealer's body FADA said on Monday, urging original equipment manufacturers to take corrective steps. The overall registrations declined to 17,23,330 units last month from 18,99,192 units in September 2023, as most of the categories including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers witnessed a year-on-year (Y-O-Y) drop.
Trump's sweeping tariffs and penalties on China-built ships have turned global shipping into the front line of economic war, observes Shyam G Menon.
Although UltraTech Cement's results for the December quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25) were not an improvement compared to Q3FY24, the company managed to surpass Street expectations. The company's profit attributable to the owners of the parent dropped 17.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,469.5 crore in Q3FY25 as against Rs 1,777 crore in Q3FY24.
Wholesale price based inflation declined to a 3-month low of 1.89 per cent in November on cheaper food items, and experts predicted a 0.25 per cent interest rate cut by the RBI in the policy review in February. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation was 2.36 per cent in October 2024. It was 0.39 per cent in November, last year. In August, 2024, it was 1.25 per cent.
The 2022-23 (FY23) January-March quarter performance of the country's largest listed paint companies was better than Street expectations. Asian Paints, Berger Paints, and Kansai Nerolac Paints (Kansai Nerolac) registered double-digit revenue growth, compared with the year-ago quarter, reinforced by strong volume/value growth. Falling raw material prices also helped the paint majors hoist their gross margins.
Gold, a safe-haven bet, is likely to continue its record-smashing journey in the New Year, rising to Rs 85,000 per 10 grams and even Rs 90,000 level in domestic markets if geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainties continue.
