The rupee slumped 5 per cent in 2025 as persistent capital outflows from foreign investors, alongside heightened dollar demand from importers, making it one of the worst-performing Asian currencies.
Following a Supreme Court setback, Donald Trump has announced an increase in global tariffs from 10% to 15%, impacting international trade relations and raising concerns about economic repercussions.
Foreign portfolio investors have started 2026 on a cautious note, extending their selling streak from last year by withdrawing Rs 7,608 crore ($846 million) from Indian equities in the first two trading sessions of January. The withdrawal of funds followed the largest outflow of Rs 1.66 lakh crore ($18.9 billion) recorded in 2025, triggered by volatile currency movements, global trade tensions and concerns over potential US tariffs, and stretched market valuations.
India Inc on Sunday hailed the Union Budget 2026-27 as a 'structural shift' in the country's technology landscape, noting that the government is moving beyond fragmented pilots to build foundational layers where AI serves as a 'horizontal enabler' for the entire economy.
Gold prices are likely to trade firm next week as traders await key economic data, including US inflation numbers, for fresh cues on interest rate outlook, while silver may remain volatile amid shifting risk sentiment and speculative activity, analysts said.
Investors must account for currency depreciation in their financial plans and use instruments that can cushion the erosion in purchasing power.
India will now face a lower reciprocal tariff of 10 per cent, down from 25 per cent, after US President Donald Trump announced a new global levy on items imported into America in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict against his sweeping duties on several nations.
India was being evaluated for a potential weight of around 1 per cent in the index, an allocation that could have translated into $25 billion of inflows, spread over roughly 10 months.
IT services firm HCLTech on Monday reported a 11.2 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,076 crore in the October-December quarter of FY26.
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
Foreign investors have remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget amid expectations of limited policy changes.
In an event-heavy week ahead, stock markets are expected to track Q3 corporate earnings from several blue-chip firms, including TCS and Infosys, while inflation data and global trends would also dictate investors' sentiment, analysts said.
Shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories jumped 5.3 per cent on Thursday to Rs 1,217 apiece, making it the top gainer in the Nifty 50 and the BSE 100 indices. By comparison, the Nifty 50 was up 0.53 per cent at 25,289.
Gold has emerged as the most stable asset during episodes of geopolitical stress, and crude oil has been more sensitive than others when it comes to regional conflicts and sanctions, according to a report in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monthly bulletin. Silver and the United States Treasury have showed moderate reactions.
Shares of information technology (IT) companies were in demand on Friday, with the National Stock Exchange's (NSE's) Nifty IT index rallying 3.3 per cent on . This came after Infosys reported steady sequential growth, driven by health care boost and large deal rampup in a seasonally weak quarter (Q3FY26).
While Infosys never had a presence, Wipro's Venezuelan unit was liquidated many years ago.
The Indian economy is growing at a robust pace, driven by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and the healthy balance sheets of banks, said a Reserve Bank report released on Wednesday.
Trading pattern in the stock market this week will largely depend on the ongoing Q3 earnings announcement from corporates, global trends, and foreign fund movement, analysts said. Moreover, geopolitical developments and any update on trade negotiations would also be keenly tracked by investors, experts noted.
Gold extended its record-breaking run to breach the Rs 1.5 lakh per 10-gram mark in futures trade on Tuesday, while silver surged to a lifetime high of Rs 3.27 lakh per kg as investors rushed to safe-haven assets amid mounting global tensions. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures for February delivery climbed Rs 6,861, or 4.7 per cent, to record Rs 1,52,500 per 10 grams after settling at Rs 1,45,639 per 10 grams in the previous session.
The communication was clear, transparent and worded in a manner that did not induce any fear in the minds of the people, point out A K Bhattacharya.
Infosys on Wednesday reported a one-time exceptional hit of Rs 1,289 crore on account of the impact of the implementation of new labour codes, as India's second-largest IT services firm announced its December quarter earnings.
HCLTech expects its recent large acquisitions to contribute about 1.5 per cent to revenue in 2026-27 (FY27), Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director C Vijayakumar said, as the company looks to build newer revenue streams in a subdued macroeconomic environment.
The previous largest weekly decline was recorded in the week ended November 15, 2024.
A head constable has been booked for changing bribe notes in court claiming the original ones were nibbled by rats at the police station where they were stored, officials said on Sunday.
Moving beyond digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the operator of Unified Payments Interface, is planning to add more muscle to the country's digital infrastructure by setting up a fourth subsidiary, NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd (NTSL).
'We believe the truth is in the middle, and that India is at an important crossroads.'
2025 marked a shift in investor preference when it comes to MF schemes.
After two years of strong gains, smallcap stocks fell sharply in 2025, but the correction may be setting up opportunities for long-term investors.
Overall economic activity continued to hold up in November with demand conditions remaining robust, thanks to strengthening urban demand, but manufacturing and rural demand showed some signs of deceleration even as services remained strong, according to an article on the State of the Economy written by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials in the central bank's December bulletin.
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.
The rupee plunged 26 paise to an all-time low of 90.75 against the US dollar in intra-day trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would be major driving factors for market movement this week, analysts said. Unabated capital infusion by domestic institutional investors have supported the positive trend in the stock market last week, traders said.
The Nifty 50 index could rise around 24 per cent from current levels to 32,032 by December 2026 in a bull-case scenario, Kotak Securities said in a recent note. "We value Nifty at a 10 per cent premium (at 22x) to the 10-year average price-to-earnings of 20x on 2027-28 estimated (E) earnings per share (EPS) of Rs 1,456, and arrive at a December 2026 Nifty target of 32,032," the analysts wrote.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
India's forex reserves dropped $5.62 billion to $689.73 billion for the week ended October 31, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday. The overall reserves had declined by $6.92 billion to $695.35 billion.
The RBI has flagged concerns over rising volatility in gold prices and advised lenders to exercise caution in the gold loan segment.
The government bond yield curve is likely to flatten in the financial year 2027 (FY27) as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to ease supply pressure in the ultra-long segment. In FY26 so far, reduced investments by insurance companies and pension funds pushed up yields on ultra-long tenor securities, steepening the curve.
State-owned Engineers India and MECON as well as four private entities are in the fray for the project to comprehensively revamp RBI's currency management infrastructure in order to cater to future cash needs of the country's fast growing economy. The four private entities are: Accenture Solutions; Colliers International (India) Property Services; PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Boston Consulting Group (India).
In the last decade or so, the financial capital has witnessed multiple hostage-taking scenarios.
India's luxury auto market is rebounding after a slow start to 2025, with GST 2.0 emerging as the main catalyst.
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