Automobile, apparel and electronics are among sectors that see a sales boost during the festival season, a time when investors expect gains in related stocks. This year could be different: Analysts have factored in all positives and do not expect such stocks to deliver lucrative returns. "Indian households spend across sectors like automobiles, consumer durables, and consumer staples during the festival season.
'The youth is stressed and students are depressed.'
Indian food services sector is expected to grow at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 8.1 per cent between 2024 and 2028 on the back of rapid urbanisation, robust GDP growth, a rising younger population, and greater exposure among consumers, said a new report. The India Food Services Report-2024, brought out by the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), states that the sector contributes 1.9 per cent to India's GDP and is projected to grow to Rs 7.76 trillion by 2028 from Rs 5.69 trillion currently.
SBI Life Insurance reported a weak performance in Q2FY25. The annual premium equivalent or APE grew 3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 5,390 crore. For the first half of financial year 2025 (H1FY25), it grew 9 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 9,030 crore.
Stock markets would take cues from the upcoming macroeconomic data announcements and global trends besides keeping a watch on the trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. The last batch of the ongoing earnings calendar would trigger stock-specific action, traders said. "This week, we have to deal with macroeconomic data on both the domestic and global front.
'Choose an equity allocation that will allow you to remain invested even if the market falls by 50 to 60 per cent.'
The upper market capitalisation (mcap) threshold for midcap and smallcap stocks in the mutual fund (MF) industry's revised list of stocks, to be announced this month, is set to see the second-highest yearly rise in the past five years. The list was first announced in 2018, and it has been revised every six months since then. According to estimates released by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research, the upper threshold for the midcap and smallcap universes could come in at Rs 66,700 crore and Rs 21,900 crore in the next list.
India's unemployment rate is at a record low and the country's labour market is undergoing a structural transformation, a report said on Tuesday. In the new report, the economists at the country's largest lender SBI also pitched for a "reinterpretation of old fashioned rhetoric" while looking at a subject like employment. "India's unemployment rate is at a record low, India's labour market is undergoing a deep structural transformation with self-entrepreneurship across all echelons and higher educational attainment emerging as key enablers," the report said.
'It's advisable not to go overboard on a banking sector fund or any other sector fund.'
You can explore the option of talking directly to the manager, suggests rediffGURU Archana Deshpande.
'With tuition fees for international students rising, education loans have become critical for bridging the gap between savings, scholarship, and full cost.'
Seven journalists were incarcerated in India in 2021 and 2022, the highest in three decades.
A teacher of a private coaching institute in Madhya Pradesh's Indore was stripped and beaten up on Wednesday by a group of people, who later took him to a police station for allegedly indulging in obscene acts with a 17-year-old girl preparing for NEET exam, an official said.
The combined market valuation of all listed companies on the leading stock exchange BSE reached the $4-trillion milestone for the first time ever on Wednesday. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 305.44 points to 66,479.64 in early trade after beginning the day on a positive note. Thanks to the optimism in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies reached Rs 3,33,26,881.49 crore in morning trade, translating into $4 trillion at the exchange rate of 83.31.
State Bank of India on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties.
A group comprising top tech startups and unicorns has raised several "serious concerns" over a platform-based gig workers Bill proposed by the Karnataka government, saying it would hurt the ease of doing business. They told the state government the Bill in its current form would hamper operations and increase regulatory and compliance burden on the nascent gig and startup economy, according to sources.
'Younger employees, who tend to have a higher risk appetite, will find NPS advantageous due to the potential gains from equity markets over time.'
Uttam Ghosh on how rail passengers will benefit from the Railway Budget.
Despite steady loan growth, the banking sector is expected to report subdued margins in the quarter ending June 2024 (Q1FY25), driven by high demand for deposits amidst tight liquidity conditions. However, according to Bloomberg analysts, listed banks are forecasted to see a 14.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in net profit. Estimates showed that banks' net interest income (NII), and revenues from interest minus interest expenses might grow 11.9 per cent Y-o-Y.
With India's inclusion in global bond indices starting next financial year, the central government believes there will be greater scope for shifting to borrowings via long-term government securities (G-sec) from short-term instruments. This change may be factored into the FY25 interim Budget. "While this has been our focus, the inclusion of India in global bond indices gives us the opportunity to accelerate the shift towards longer tenure G-secs," an official said, requesting anonymity.
As order books gain from India's increased capital outlay, some large capital goods and engineering companies are together spending over Rs 11,500 crore in creating new facilities, data shows. Nine engineering and capital goods companies, where data was available, including Siemens, Larsen & Tourbo (L&T) and KEC International, have a combined capital expenditure (capex) of about Rs 11,500 crore or more. Others such as ABB India and Thermax Global are also adding capacities.
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, inflows minus outflows, declined sharply in April-August this year to $2.99 billion from $18.03 billion in the same period last year on moderation in global activities and a rise in repatriation. The Reserve Bank of India's data (October 2023 bulletin) said FDI in India was $7.28 billion and FDI by India, that is money invested abroad from the country, was $4.28 billion in April-August 2023. As for 2022, FDI in India was $22.79 billion and FDI by India was $4.76 billion in April-August.
Commercial banks have turned cautious in lending to smaller microfinance institutions (MFIs), which has compelled the latter to borrow from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) at much higher rates. Recently Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao slammed micro lenders for increasing their margins "disproportionately" and said these lenders were quick to pass on the increased cost to the borrowers but reluctant to pass on the benefits under the new regime, where margins are not capped.
When we saw her on the runway with Aditya Roy Kapoor for Tom Tailor, we couldn't stop ourselves from wolf-whistling!
In addition to interest rates, review the fine print for penalties and repayment terms, and select a reputable lender to avoid harsh recovery practices.
Analysts are expecting pharmaceutical companies to post sales growth of 10-11 per cent in the second quarter this financial year while the Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) margins are anticipated to improve by about 110 basis points. Ebitda improvement will be led by lower input costs because prices of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are 5-15 per cent lower year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Axis Capital said sales growth would be around 10 per cent, of which growth in the India market would be 11 per cent or so.
Companies in the banking, finance sector and insurance (BFSI) sector have underperformed on the bourses despite leading the earnings growth charts in the post-pandemic period. This has created a dichotomy between their earnings and share prices. BFSI companies have never been less expensive than the rest of the equity market.
'Splitting must result in tangible benefits for the customer, otherwise it will only mean more work for them in maintaining the policy and for their nominees.'
Indian real estate market remained buoyant in January-June this year, with housing sales hitting an 11-year high at 1.73 lakh units and office demand at a record 34.7 million square feet across eight major cities, according to Knight Frank. On an annual basis, housing sales rose 11 per cent to 173,241 units while leasing of office space grew 33 per cent to 34.7 million square feet during January-June this year across eight major cities. Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India, said, "India's real estate market has been buoyant in the last few quarters owing to the strong economic fundamentals and stable socio-political conditions."
Geopolitical events, macroeconomic data and quarterly earnings of corporates would guide the stock market in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Stock markets will remain closed on Wednesday for Ram Navami. "This week promises to be crucial for the market as fresh worries about a potential conflict between Iran and Israel emerge.
'Some of the astounding proposals, if translated into statutory provisions, would be suicidal.' 'This would not be a wonder cure for increasing insurance penetration and only result in mushrooming growth of players like paan kiosks with deleterious consequences.'
It is advisable to file your ITR right away and not rely on potential extensions.
Bank of America has named Infosys McCamish Systems as a source of a data breach that it said affected 57,028 customers, as per documents submitted to the Maine Attorney General in the US. Infosys McCamish Systems (IMS) is an Infosys' step-down subsidiary. The notification, penned on behalf of Bank of America, describes the breach as an "external system breach (hacking)", while the information acquired has been mentioned as "name or other personal identifier in combination with: social security number".
GST collection in May rose 12 per cent to Rs 1.57 lakh crore, the finance ministry said on Thursday. The gross Good & Services Tax (GST) revenue collected in the month of May, 2023 is Rs 1,57,090 crore of which Central GST is Rs 28,411 crore, State GST is Rs 35,828 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 81,363 crore (including Rs 41,772 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 11,489 crore (including Rs 1,057 crore collected on import of goods).
The net direct tax collection increased by 21.82 per cent to over Rs 9.57 lakh crore till October 9, helped by good inflow from corporates and individuals, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The net collections have reached 52.5 per cent of the full-year budget estimates (BE) of Rs 18.23 lakh crore. The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections up to October 9, 2023, continue to register steady growth, the statement said.
Domestic macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would guide market sentiments this week, analysts said. After a record rally, markets may face volatile trends this week amid elevated valuations and investors would also keep a track of global oil benchmark Brent crude and rupee-dollar movement for further cues. "Potential volatility in the stock market is anticipated this week. Elevated valuations remain a concern, with investors now focusing on monsoon progress and its impact on the rural economy.
Following a review of peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, certain issues -- including high non-performing asset levels, significantly high balances in escrow accounts, and non-compliance with net owned fund and disclosure requirements -- came to the RBI's attention.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the Election Commission's controversial role this election.
In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday underlined the need for collaboration between the Centre and states to take up the next-generation reforms covering land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. As far as revenue share goes, the government has projected to give about 32.5 per cent of central taxes to states during FY25, against the 15th Finance Commission's recommendation of 41 per cent, according to the Union Budget estimate.
Electricity tariffs to go up as coal cess is doubled.
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