Asian Paints reported a good performance for the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26), with some help from base effects, despite strong competition and extended monsoon. Volume grew in low double digits in the key domestic decorative paints, and value in that segment grew by 6 per cent. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) grew 21 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), and PAT (profit after tax) grew 14 per cent. Asian Paints also defended market share better after several quarters where it had lost ground to Birla Opus.
'It will support our growth aspirations. It's very positive as it helps expand the market in a segment that really needs it.'
'An asset must generate income. Equities yield dividends, bonds pay coupons, deposits give interest, and real estate earns rent.' 'Gold, silver, and even Bitcoin produce no income, they merely store value. So, they should not be compared to productive assets.'
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
Total market funds are ideal for long-term investors who prefer a simple, hands-off approach, making them suitable for those unwilling to manage multiple funds.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), mostly mutual funds and insurance companies, overtook foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in ownership of NSE-listed companies in the March quarter of 2025. According to Prime Database, DIIs held a 17.62 per cent stake, up from 16.89 per cent in the December 2024 quarter.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) on Friday reported a 13 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline in consolidated revenue from operations for the second quarter of 2025-26 (Q2FY26), largely due to the cyberattack on its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in late August that forced a shutdown of its manufacturing operations for over five weeks.
The rupee breached 90-levels against the greenback for the first time on Wednesday, falling 6 paise to 90.02 in early trade, as banks kept buying US dollars at higher levels and FII outflows continued.
India told the UN Security Council that it calls for a pragmatic engagement with the Taliban, underlining that a focus on only punitive measures will ensure a 'business as usual' approach.
DIIs owned equities worth Rs 73.5 trillion, just 1.9 per cent less than FPIs. This marks a significant change from a decade ago.
Mahindra & Mahindra on Tuesday posted a 28 per cent year-on-year increase in its consolidated profit after tax to Rs 3,673 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2025, driven by robust performance of the farm sector, while also seeing the impact of the GST transition on the auto sector. The company reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 2,867 crore for the July-September period of the last fiscal.
Stock markets are expected to be driven by global trends and FPI trading activity this week after the conclusion of the earnings season, analysts said. Unabated foreign fund outflows, lower-than-expected quarterly earnings and global trade war fears hit market sentiments last week, where the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty extended their downward trend to the eighth day in a row on Friday.
'We currently have new proposals worth Rs 1.48 trillion in the pipeline.'
The recent policies that have been announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will allow banks to fully use its capital, funding profile to keep business at an equilibrium level, which otherwise was getting skewed towards retail, said K V Kamath, chairman, Jio Financial Services.
Among Sensex firms, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Titan, Trent, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. However, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, SBI, NTPC and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.
'Tax rate and stock markets are entirely two different things.'
Both the life and non-life insurance segment posted over 20 per cent premium growth in November for the first time in this financial year (FY26), supported by the reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on premiums from 18 per cent to zero and a favourable base effect.
Grant Thornton Bharat's latest survey indicates that hybrids are set to consolidate market share this festive season, bridging the gap between conventional petrol engines and the emerging electric vehicle segment.
Officials from both India and the US in the recent past have indicated that a "fair deal" will be concluded soon, with Indian officials holding that more formal rounds of talks are not needed.
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled over 1 per cent each on Friday as tensions soared between India and Pakistan, fuelling fears of a wider conflict.
Pilots' body Airlines' Pilots Association (ALPA) India on Friday took 'strong' objection to safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)'s 'selective and unsafe' relief to domestic carrier IndiGo, amid widescale cancellations, saying the decision sets a dangerous precedent.
A deepening payment paralysis in Telangana's liquor industry is beginning to choke manufacturing units and strain supplies, employment, and the broader investment landscape, industry bodies have warned, as unpaid dues accumulate to levels they describe as "unprecedented" and "severe".
Delhi Police have arrested a 51-year-old fruit seller who allegedly masterminded the 'Mamu Gang,' a group responsible for multiple bank burglaries across states.
Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday overhauled the block deal framework for stock exchanges, by setting a minimum trade size limit of Rs 25 crore and introducing two trading windows with tighter price limits and enhanced disclosure norms. The latest move by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) aims to ensure greater transparency and efficiency in the execution of large trades.
'First-time or conservative investors should avoid narrow sectoral funds.'
Algo trading should be segregated in a separate account with only risk capital deployed.
Domestic benchmark equity indices may see a positive trading sentiment on Friday thanks to a spectacular rally in world markets after the US President Donald Trump announced to put tariff hikes on hold for 90 days, excluding China from the reprieve. Indian stock markets were closed on Thursday for Shri Mahavir Jayanti. Trump has declared a three-month pause on reciprocal tariffs on non-retaliating countries marking a rather unexpected U-turn after record high levies he imposed led to global stock market meltdown.
ICICI Securities expects Jio Platforms' ensuing IPO to fetch "premium valuations", as was the case in the high-profile equity raise of FY21, and has pegged the company's equity value at $148 billion by September 2027.
The Indian banking sector could be due for a rise in profitability after several quarters of net interest margin (NIM) compression. The Q2FY26 results suggest NIMs have bottomed out.
Capital value appreciation outpaced rental value growth in several key micro-markets between 2021 and 2024, with Noida Sector 150 in the National Capital Region (NCR) leading the pack with a 128 per cent rise in capital values compared to rental value growth of just 66 per cent, according to a report by property consulting firm Anarock.
Tata Sons, now debt-free, has asked the RBI to drop its 'upper-layer NBFC' tag and allow it to stay private.
Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC's) Q2FY26 operating profit of 14,600 crore beat Street estimates and was up 16 per cent on a sequential basis. It surged 287 per cent over the year-ago quarter on account of an improved refining performance.
More than 30 technology startups, collectively valued at $100 billion, are poised to go public by 2027, signalling a potential rebound in India's stock market activity, according to a report by investment bank The Rainmaker Group. Walmart-owned Flipkart, financial technology (fintech) leader PhonePe, SoftBank-backed Lenskart, Razorpay, Zetwerk, and Meesho are among the top companies preparing to go public in India.
This innovation works by stimulating our natural organs so that it can produce and maintain the insulin balance.
Buying stocks during a dip, says Amar Nandu, research analyst, Samco Securities, can lead to higher compounding returns when the uptrend begins.
Investors would track a host of macroeconomic data announcements scheduled this week, including inflation numbers, and also monitor global market trends, and trading activity of foreign institutional investors, analysts said. The ongoing quarterly earnings announcements and the rupee-dollar trend would also influence the markets.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Retail investors have been the hardest hit in the recent market downturn, with stocks where they hold over 20% falling 45% from their 52-week highs.
'The outlook for the next Samvat is more constructive, as many of the earlier drags are gradually becoming supports.'
Financial services giant HDFC Bank, carrying a brand value of $44.9 billion, has surged past IT consulting behemoth Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to reclaim its crown as the country's most valued brand, according to the 2025 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Indian Brands report.
