Domestic equities surged on Tuesday, posting their best single-day gains in more than eight months after a long-awaited trade deal between India and the US. The deal, which lowered tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent, significantly improved investor sentiment and lifted a key overhang for the market.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Thursday, helped by a rally in blue-chip Larsen & Toubro and the Economic Survey projecting the GDP growth of 6.8-7.2 per cent for the next fiscal.
'Even if tariffs are reduced, non-tariff may still remain a challenge.'
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday thanked United States President Donald Trump for the 'historic' trade agreement reached between Islamabad and Washington, and expressed hope that it would expand cooperation between the two nations.
Trump administration's chief negotiator Brendan Lynch is arriving in India to hold talks on the India-US bilateral trade deal, which were impacted after the US imposed 50 per cent import tariffs on Indian goods.
India on Thursday signed a free trade agreement, officially dubbed as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), with the UK - its 16th trade pact so far - as the country aims to boost bilateral trade and investments.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
Sustaining 8 per cent-plus growth rates is necessary if we are to reach high-income status by 2047, points out Amitabh Kant.
FDI inflows into India are expected to register robust growth in 2026, supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, big-ticket investment announcements, sustained efforts to improve the ease of doing business, and a new generation of investment-linked trade pacts.
India is a global leader in software development services, IT enabled services, knowledge process outsourcing services and contract R&D services relating to software development, Sitharaman said noting these business segments are quite inter-connected with each other.
Indian equities declined on Friday, with the benchmark Nifty posting its worst weekly fall since September, as foreign investor sentiment remained weak amid tepid earnings growth and little progress on the India-US trade front.
Among Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel were the major gainers. However, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance were the laggards.
The key question is how much of the latest growth record represents recovery from the 2020-2021 downturn, and what is the sustainable growth rate now, asks T N Ninan.
According to the Economic Survey 2026, the appropriate stance for 2026 is therefore one of strategic sobriety rather than defensive pessimism.
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.
India is growing fast, but to keep growing strong, the government must make more things at home, create jobs, and spend money wisely, suggests Rajiv Memani, regional managing partner, Africa-India Region, EY.
The Union Budget for 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, which was a first, had an excellent domestic macro backdrop. According to the first advance estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices is projected to grow 7.4 per cent in the current financial year, against 6.5 per cent in 2024-25.
China and Pakistan concluded their strategic dialogue, reiterating their opposition to unilateral actions in South Asia and discussing Kashmir, Afghanistan, and trilateral cooperation.
India, the world's fourth largest economy, is set to maintain the 'goldilocks' phase with tailwinds of good growth, low inflation and robust banking performance as well as reform initiatives poised to sustain the economic pace witnessed during 2025.
India and the US desire to give preferential market access to each other's businesses and teams of both the countries are working together on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said. In February, US President Donald J Trump and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi announced plans to negotiate the first tranche or phase of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) of 2025.
The Centre is regularly holding consultations with stakeholders to streamline foreign direct investments (FDIs) and foreign institutional investments (FIIs) related processes to enable faster and more efficient investment flows into the country, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, adding one such meeting with stakeholders was held on Tuesday.
India has managed high government debt-to-GDP, a slowing domestic revenue engine, lower household savings and a more hostile geopolitical environment separately in the past. But together, they threaten to undo the growth narrative on which today's optimism rests, warns Debashis Basu.
'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.'
Amid US-China trade tensions and economic vulnerabilities, India must seize the 'China +1' opportunity, deepen reforms, secure FTAs, and globalise its firms for long-term growth, suggests Ajay Shah.
The US team is in New Delhi for the next round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement and the negotiations are progressing well, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. Some more US officials will reach India on June 6 to join the negotiations with their Indian counterparts.
India and Russia have agreed to encourage joint manufacturing of military hardware and spare parts in India, aiming to improve maintenance of Russian-origin defence equipment and boost overall bilateral defence cooperation.
The US is "pretty close" to reaching a "fair trade deal" with India, President Donald Trump has said, adding that he will lower the tariffs imposed on Indian goods at "some point".
Among Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Axis Bank were the major gainers. However, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Titan and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.
'Earnings growth will be the main driver of India's market in 2026, with profits expected to rise 9% to 10% in H2 FY26 and accelerate to 12% to 15% in FY27.'
'Don't look at Russia only as a place to earn quickly and then leave.' 'Try to build experience in serious companies, skills and certifications that will serve you anywhere in the world.'
Among Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the major laggards. However, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Infosys, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma and HDFC Bank were the gainers.
JSW Steel Ltd (JSTL) has announced a restructuring that unlocks value from Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd (BPSL) and changes the balance-sheet. JSTL will do a slump sale of 50 per cent stake in BPSL to Japan's JFE Steel in two equal tranches, totalling Rs 15,700 crore in cash.
'When AI comes in, coders in Bangalore or Hyderabad will lose their jobs.'
Adani Enterprises' subsidiary Kutch Copper (KCL) and Australian Securities Exchange-listed Caravel Minerals on Thursday signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration on the Caravel Copper Project in Western Australia's Murchison region, for an undisclosed amount, according to a joint statement.
'The steel industry has a multiplier effect on direct and indirect employment, national security on the supply chain, technology access etc.'
India and Russia have solidified a five-year plan to enhance their economic and trade partnership, while also addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the threat of terrorism.
I am inclined to believe that the Venezuela adventure is not an indication of American strength, alas, but rather of American weakness, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
The Indian government has expressed its disagreement with the IMF staff's 'baseline' assumption that the 50 per cent US tariffs on its goods exports 'would remain in place indefinitely', based on which the staff pegged the country's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent this year, and pared its 2026-27 projection by 20 basis points to 6.2 per cent.
The meeting, expected on September 25 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, will also be attended by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Ratings firm Crisil said on Wednesday that the uncertainties surrounding the US tariffs might be a new hindrance to capital expenditure decisions in the current financial year. The additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on India for its purchases of Russian oil came into effect on Wednesday, bringing the total amount of levies imposed on New Delhi to 50 per cent.
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