Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty extended their gains for the third straight session on Wednesday, driven by last-hour buying in bank, metal, and FMCG shares.
Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers. In contrast, Eternal, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma and Maruti were among the laggards.
A NielsenIQ report indicates that the FMCG industry's sales growth moderated to 7.8% in the December quarter of 2025, with volume growth also dipping due to GST rationalisation and a high base from the previous year's festival season.
The Indian stock market in the October-November period sees high trading activity due to increased consumer spending, festive demand, upbeat sentiment, renewed investor confidence, and the auspicious Muhurat trading session. This impacts many stocks and sectors in the festive season.
Passive funds have resumed gaining ground in the mutual fund (MF) industry after a slowdown in 2024, with their share of assets under management (AUM) reaching an all-time high in 2025. The surge has been driven largely by robust inflows into gold and silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Indian artificial intelligence (AI) startup Sarvam launched two indigenous large language models (LLMs) specifically trained on Indian languages on Wednesday.
'Oil is still well below its all-time highs, and the world is gradually running out of known reserves.'
A strong third-quarter (October-December/Q3) performance for 2025-26 (FY26) has helped the stock of India's largest listed pharmaceutical (pharma) company, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, gain about 7 per cent since the start of February.
'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.'
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty extended their gains for the second straight session on Monday, driven by optimism over the India-US trade deal and robust buying in public sector banks, consumer durables, and realty stocks.
Speculation is rife in Bihar about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar potentially moving to the Rajya Sabha, leading to discussions about a possible BJP chief minister and a role for Kumar's son, Nishant. Senior BJP leaders have dismissed the rumours.
Among the Sensex constituents, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki India, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the laggards. However, Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics Ltd, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
The business value of the league, popularly called the IPL, surged to a record $18.5 billion last year, U.S.-based investment bank Houlihan Lokey says.
After two years of strong gains, smallcap stocks fell sharply in 2025, but the correction may be setting up opportunities for long-term investors.
Six months after its India debut, the Vietnamese automaker has overtaken established players such as Hyundai Motor, BMW, Kia, and Chinese EV major BYD.
Zero-coupon bonds suit investors with long-term goals such as retirement or education planning.
Trade deals ease risks for Indian equities, but weak demand and stretched valuations raise questions over whether optimism -- especially in smallcaps -- can turn into a sustained bull run, points out Debashis Basu.
The share of first-time luxury customers in BMW's portfolio has risen sharply -- from around 43 per cent in 2024 to nearly 49 per cent in 2025. In some models, the figure is even higher.
Shares of apparel retail major Trent fell over 8.6 per cent to ~4,048 apiece at the close of trade on Tuesday. Trading near its 52-week low, the stock has shed about 43 per cent over the past year. Sentiment around the Tata group company weakened after it reported lower than expected revenue for the third quarter (October-December/Q3) of 2025-26 (FY26). Brokerages expect the stock to remain under pressure in the near term.
All three Bharti group companies outperformed in CY25 but the biggest gain came from Bharti Airtel, the flagship.
ilver continues to outperform the yellow metal, with the gold-to-silver price ratio declining to its lowest level since 2013. The ratio fell to around 57 on Wednesday in the international market, from a five-year high of 100.8 at the end of April 2025.
Despite a 2.8 per cent fall in 2025 volumes, Mercedes-Benz India reported its best-ever revenue and profitability, led by top-end models, AMG growth and higher BEV mix.
Worries about global politics and trade are pulling the Nifty 50 down. Experts say the market could drop further low.
Jewellery makers are set to post strong revenue growth in the 2025-26 (FY26) October-December quarter (Q3), supported by a robust wedding season and rising value growth, even as volumes decline.
Shares of gold finance companies Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance hit their respective all-time highs, gaining on the BSE during Wednesday on expectation of healthy earnings. In comparison, the benchmark BSE Sensex was down 0.14 per cent, closing at 85,408.
Driven by GST reforms, robust festive demand, and softening raw material prices, the FMCG industry expects volume-based growth, supported by a mid-single digit revenue rise and improved operating margins in the December quarter.
Shares of tyre manufacturers have outperformed broader equity benchmarks, buoyed by multiple tailwinds. Softer raw material prices, an uptick in demand from automakers following the reduction of the goods and services tax (GST) rates, and steady replacement demand have lifted sentiment toward the sector.
After three post-pandemic years of an upcycle, it was a mixed bag for the realty sector in 2025, with sales volumes in the residential real estate moderating across top cities, and commercial real estate and institutional investments emerging as standout performers. Residential: Volumes soften, value holds firm.
The stock of automative major Eicher Motors hit its all-time high on Wednesday, capping the year with gains of about 52.7 per cent. It has comfortably outperformed its sector index, the Nifty Auto, which jumped 22.7 per cent, as well as the benchmark Nifty, which rose 10 per cent during this period.
Sectoral funds, focused exclusively on public sector banks (PSBs), have delivered the strongest returns among domestic mutual fund (MF) categories over the past six months. However, active banking funds have significantly lagged because of their heavy tilt towards private lenders.
Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) such as Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Muthoot Finance, and IIFL Finance have regained their growth momentum after losing market share to banks in the post-Covid period. The growth surge is being led by diversified lenders and gold-loan companies while development-finance institutions such as Power Finance Corporation (PFC), REC, and Housing & Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) continue to grow at a slower pace.
'We expect modest returns in 2026 versus the steep gains seen over the past few years.'
The BJP has emerged as the most dominant force in the recently-held municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra, securing the highest number of seats in five out of the state's six administrative divisions.
Chopra focussing on rehabilitation of his back injury, season opener not known yet: Sumariwalla
Brokerages expect the company to continue outperforming in the auto segment, driven by launches and the strong trajectory of healthy bookings.
India's private-sector banks are likely to lose market share for a second consecutive year in 2025-26, as their loan books continue to expand much slower than overall bank credit.
The country's largest listed auto parts company by market capitalisation, Samvardhana Motherson International, reported a better than expected operating performance in the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26). Though the global passenger vehicle (PV) market is facing multiple headwinds, the company is outperforming on the back of higher content per vehicle and market share gains.
From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finserv, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Trent, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Eternal, Titan and Bajaj Finance were the gainers. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank and PowerGrid were the laggards.
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.
'For OTT platforms, securing dubbed rights often makes greater business sense, enabling them to serve diverse regional audiences more effectively.'
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