'Illegal gambling operators are systematically exploiting India's advertising and payment infrastructure, siphoning off crores of rupees from outside the country.'
With rising credit demand, cleaner balance sheets, and renewed investor confidence, banks are positioned at the forefront of the market rally. From major players like ICICI and HDFC to broader policy shifts, there's much driving this momentum.
With rising credit demand, cleaner balance sheets, and renewed investor confidence, banks are positioned at the forefront of the market rally. From major players like ICICI and HDFC to broader policy shifts, there's much driving this momentum.
With rising credit demand, cleaner balance sheets, and renewed investor confidence, banks are positioned at the forefront of the market rally. From major players like ICICI and HDFC to broader policy shifts, there's much driving this momentum.
India Ratings on Thursday said that any broad-based or strong recovery in corporate capital expenditure was unlikely in the upcoming financial year 2026 (FY26) due to uncertainty of domestic and external demand. The uncertainty is adversely affecting the overall corporate sector capex. Interest rates on credit are not the primary deterrent to decisions about capital expenditure, said Soumyajit Niyogi, director, core analytical group, Ind-Ra, in a webinar on the credit market outlook.
HDFC Life Insurance Company (HDFC Life) delivered a strong performance in the December quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25), exceeding market expectations with robust earnings growth. The company reported a 13.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in net profit to Rs 414.9 crore in the quarter. The value of new business (VNB) rose 8.6 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 930 crore, compared to Rs 856 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
From the 30-share pack, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Power Grid, ITC, Tata Motors, Asian Paints and Hindustan Unilever were among the gainers. Among the laggards, Kotak Mahindra Bank tanked 4.57 per cent
'We have to retain some fiscal headroom without compromising on the promised fiscal consolidation roadmap.'
Around six weeks ago, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, India's largest drugmaker, suffered a setback, which led to a selloff in the share. The US District Court of New Jersey granted Incyte's request for a preliminary injunction against Sun Pharma's launch of Leqselvi, a drug that treats alopecia.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday revised upwards the GDP growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent from 7 per cent on rising private consumption and revival of demand in rural areas. Unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) placed India's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 8.2 per cent in 2023-24. "During 2024-25 so far, domestic economic activity has maintained resilience," he said, adding that manufacturing activity continues to gain ground on the back of strengthening domestic demand.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) delivered a stronger-than-expected operational performance in the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2024-25 (FY25), driven by solid growth in its automotive (auto) and farm equipment segments. Higher volumes improved operating leverage, expanding margins.
The share of Ahmedabad in the total value of trades on both the BSE and NSE is set to touch double digits for the third year in a row.
Gland Pharma beat muted expectations for Q2FY25. There was increased Ebitda (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) loss at Cenexi, the CRAM subsidiary. However, overall Ebitda margin was better than expectations at 21.1 per cent. But given two years of earnings decline in FY23 and FY24, the business may have bottomed and upper-teens EPS (earnings per share) growth looks possible over next two financial years.
With general government debt now approaching three-quarters of GDP, and only incremental reform efforts visible, Pakistan risks prolonging its economic stagnation unless fundamental governance, regulatory, and industrial overhauls are undertaken.
Gold prices could hit the $3500 an ounce (oz) mark in the next 18 months - up around 13 per cent from the current levels - given the global uncertainties and aided by investment demand, said analysts at BofA Securities in a recent note. Uncertainty around Trump Administration trade policies, BofA said, could continue to push the US dollar (USD) lower, further supporting gold prices near-term.
Amid low growth elsewhere, gross value added (GVA) growth in agriculture and allied activities recovered during the second quarter of the current financial year (Q2FY25) to 3.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) due to strong monsoon. Experts feel that the rains have laid the foundation of an even better GVA performance in subsequent quarters. GVA growth in the first quarter of FY25 was 2.0 per cent.
'As the Budget has taken some measures to spur growth, similar action from the MPC may be expected.'
India's most valued company, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), reported a robust performance in the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25), surpassing analyst expectations. This coupled with positive commentary by brokerages led to the stock of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate surging as much as 4.44 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 1,325.1. It settled at Rs 1,301.3 apiece, up 2.57 per cent.
Health insurance premium growth has slowed after touching record highs during the Covid-19 pandemic due to tapering demand from retail consumers amid affordability issues. According to General Insurance Council data, health insurance premiums grew by 10.44 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the Apr-Jan period of FY25 in comparison with 20.79 per cent in the year-ago period. It was around 23.57 per cent in FY23, and 25.89 per cent in FY22.
Shares of Bajaj Finance surged over 6 per cent on Thursday after the diversified non-banking finance company reported an 18 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,308 crore for the December quarter. The stock rallied 6.33 per cent intraday to touch Rs 8,249.95 - a 52-week high -- on the BSE.
Tata Power's Q2FY25 reported results were above consensus despite challenges like low plant availability at Mundra and Odisha discom operations affected by rain. A positive development for the power major included module manufacturing hitting nearly 100 per cent capacity utilisation. The Board has approved an investment proposal for a 1GW pumped storage project (PSP).
India's second largest IT company Infosys' board has approved the grant of stock incentives or Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) worth over Rs 51 crore to CEO and MD Salil Parekh. These stock incentives are under various heads including ESG and equity, and add up to over Rs 51 crore.
These 10 stocks represent the best mix of value and growth, offering relatively low price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, a high return on equity, and sufficiently high potential from current levels.
Apple Inc's iPhones assembled in India achieved market revenues of Rs 162,000 crore. Tata Steel's revenue for the same period was Rs 162,324 crore.
Gross GST collections grew 8.5 per cent to over Rs 1.82 lakh crore in November on account of increased sales spurred by the festive season.
Banks have outperformed the broader market in the past six months and most of the leading lenders have given positive returns to investors compared to a negative return delivered by benchmark indices.
Recent documents by NITI Aayog and periodic labour force surveys on employment show that the importance of agriculture is rising in the Indian economy.
Brokerages on DMart Q3 results: Avenue Supermarts (DMart) shares slipped as much as 5.74 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 3,474 per share on Monday. However, the stock recovered slightly to close at Rs 3,507.95, down 4.82 per cent. Notably, the 52-week low for DMart shares is Rs 3,400. The downward movement in DMart's share price was triggered by the company's 2024-25 (FY25) October-December quarter (Q3) results, which missed Street expectations.
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Grameen has the highest unutilised amount (Rs 13,111 crore) compared to any other centrally sponsored scheme.
ONGC's overseas arm applied for a sanctions waiver to access $500 million dividend from two Venezuelan projects.
Having missed the target for the current financial year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed to spend Rs 11.21 lakh crore towards capital expenditure (capex) for FY26. However, the capex target is going to be missed by about 93,000 crore for the current financial year.
Geopolitical developments between India and Pakistan, quarterly earnings and macro data will be the key drivers of stock markets in the holiday-shortened week, say analysts.
Trading sentiment in the equity market will largely be driven by domestic corporate quarterly earnings, any update related to US tariffs and foreign fund movements this week, analysts said. Investors would also focus on world market trends, movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude and the rupee-dollar trend for further cues, experts noted.
After declining to a three-year low in FY24, the private sector investment is expected to fall further in the current financial year, India Ratings said in a research note.. The investments in the private sector are likely to plummet to below 11 per cent of the GDP in FY25, based on the trends from the latest national accounts data and company fillings, it noted.
'The only solution is for the government to allow us to charge a low controlled MDR of 25 bps on UPI P2M transactions only for merchants with more than a Rs 40 lakh turnover.'
Marico may buck the industry trend with the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major reporting strong growth and favourable commentary in a weak quarter for the industry. The company reported consolidated revenue growth of 8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in Q2FY25. Domestic revenue growth was 8 per cent Y-o-Y with 5 per cent volume growth (4 per cent in Q1FY25).
Analysts have largely maintained their positive outlook on HDFC Bank, as the private lender reported in-line results for the October-December quarter (Q3) of the current financial year (2024-25/FY25). They believe the results were 'strong' given the tough macro environment, and relative to peers.
Expansion of its development portfolio, brokerage upgrades, and strong outlook have led to a 15 per cent gain for the stock of real estate major Godrej Properties (GPL) in six trading sessions. The company recently acquired a 53-acre land parcel in Joka, Kolkata with an estimated development potential of 1.3 million square feet of saleable area with an estimated revenue potential of Rs 500 crore.
The stock of India's largest listed pure-play retail company, Avenue Supermarts (DMart), has slipped over 10 per cent from its monthly highs. A weak operational performance in the fourth quarter (January-March) of financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25) and muted near-term outlook due to intense competitive pressures and higher costs could lead to downward momentum on the stock. While the stock dipped by 3.44 per cent in early trade on Monday, it recovered a bit to close 1.07 per cent lower at 4,017.