The political and ideological differences between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor is no longer a matter of whispers.
The Indian economy could remain less affected by global trade wars than other countries because the two engines of domestic growth - consumption and investment - are likely to face a limited impact from such headwinds, according to an article on the 'State of the Economy' in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) bulletin, released on Tuesday.
'The size of the investments is important, but equally crucial is the number of jobs that these proposals create.'
Global fund managers witnessed one of their largest-ever declines in assets under custody (AUC) during the ongoing correction in the Indian markets, as stocks came under pressure from foreign outflows and the weakening rupee.
'We don't have to compete with Maharashtra or Gujarat. We have to now start thinking about how we compete with the United States or China.'
Institutional investments in Indian real estate have seen a strong start to 2025, with inflows reaching $ 1.3 billion in the first quarter - a 31 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase. This growth was primarily driven by domestic investments, which accounted for 60 per cent of the total inflows during the quarter. With $ 0.8 billion inflows, domestic investments saw a 75 per cent annual rise and were largely focused on industrial & warehousing and office segments.
The growth was primarily driven by domestic investments, which accounted for 60 per cent of the total inflows during the first quarter of the financial year.
The exodus of FPIs from the Indian equity markets continued unabated, as they withdrew over Rs 7,300 crore (about $840 million) in the first week of this month due to global trade tensions, with the US imposing tariffs on countries such as Canada, Mexico, and China. This came following an outflow of Rs 78,027 crore in the entire January. Before that, they invested Rs 15,446 crore in December, data with the depositories showed.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has entered into a partnership with the Startup Policy Forum (SPF), a premier industry organisation representing India's leading new-age companies.
Thousands of devotees traveling to the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, were stranded on the border between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh due to massive crowds. The Madhya Pradesh government provided food and accommodation for the stranded devotees in Rewa district. The situation arose due to the influx of pilgrims for the Mauni Amavasya holy bath.
'Of the 20 trading days of January till January 28, FIIs have been selling for 19 trading days'. 'When did FIIs withdraw money with this kind of intensity?' 'It never happened. It's the first. It did not happen even during the 2008-2009 financial crisis when Lehman went under.' 'Even then you did not have like a 19-day selling spree from the FIIs.'
Goldman Sachs expects gold to reach $3,150 per ounce in the international market by December 2025, up around 19.1 per cent from its current level of $2,645, according to a recent report in Business Standard. Domestically, gold is trading at Rs 76,018 per 10 grams after delivering a remarkable 21.9 per cent return in the past year.
The recent stimulus measures announced by China have seen most analysts sit up and take notice.
Foreign investors pulled out a massive Rs 94,000 crore (around $11.2 billion) from the Indian stock market in October, making it the worst-ever month in terms of outflows, triggered by the elevated valuation of domestic equities and attractive valuations of Chinese stocks. Before this, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew Rs 61,973 crore from equities in March 2020. The latest outflow came after a nine-month high investment of Rs 57,724 crore in September 2024.
The Indian markets have delivered high long-term returns, second only to the US.
Foreign investors turned net sellers in October, withdrawing shares worth Rs 58,711 crore in the month so far owing to escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a sharp rise in crude oil prices, and the strong performance of the Chinese market. The outflow came following a nine-month high investment of Rs 57,724 crore in September. Since June, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have consistently bought equities, after withdrawing Rs 34,252 crore in April-May.
Macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would be the major driving factors for the equity markets this week, according to analysts.
Global brokerage firm CLSA has reversed its early tactical shift from Indian equities to Chinese stocks, and has decided to raise India allocation while cutting exposure to China. In its report titled 'Pouncing Tiger, Prevaricating Dragon', CLSA cited challenges facing Chinese markets in the aftermath of Donald Trump's victory in the US elections as the reason for the move. "Misfortune can happen in threes. So it has played out for Chinese equities over the past week.
BlackRock Inc has executed a purchase agreement to acquire Barclays Global Investors, including its market leading ETF platform, iShares, from Barclays Plc, the company said. The transaction would create an independent and fully integrated asset management firm named 'BlackRock Global Investors' with combined assets under management of over $2.7 trillion, bringing together market leaders in active and index strategies.
New investors should gradually build a 5 to 10 per cent allocation to gold.
Vodafone's brass, including chief executive officer Vittorio Colao, told investors roaming policy was applicable to its 3G licences, in spite of claims that it was not.
Global investors appear to be 'most optimistic' on Indian market after domestic companies showed consistent long term improvement in profits since 1988, according to a survey by global merchant banking major Credit Suisse First Boston.
The narrative on China is changing post the recent stimulus measures, and it will be hard for global investors to ignore the Chinese markets.
On a five-day rolling basis, FPI selling is the highest in 24 years.
'Our discussions with investors and the market's multiples suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi winning 2019 is being priced in,' says a UBS report.
With their home markets in turmoil, large global investors such as Blackstone, Carlyle, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation are actively scouting for and signing deals in the Indian property sector.
Of the respondents, 61 per cent avoided investing in companies which lack a risk programme, while 48 per cent actually de-invested from firms where risk management was insufficient.
The US Fed interest rate decision, ongoing quarterly earnings, macroeconomic data and FII trading activity are the major triggers that will drive stock markets this week, analysts said. Investors would also track global market trends and the movement in global oil prices for further cues. "This week, the focus will shift to global cues, particularly the US markets," Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart Ltd said.
China which recently emerged as the world's second largest economy has now become the fifth biggest global investor even as Foreign Direct Investment into the country is set to cross $100 billion this year.
The deal with Nokia will be signed in San Francisco on Friday morning in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who is on a 17-day trip to the US to attract fresh investments.
Given the high priority accorded to the manufacturing sector, several policy initiatives around the theme of Atmanirbhar Bharat have been set in motion to address its competitiveness and growth. Some notable examples include the PLI scheme and the employment-linked incentive scheme announced in the recent Union Budget. The Budget also announced the setting up of 12 industrial parks under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP).
'Are we to believe that coordinated moves by the Canadian and US authorities are no longer taking place?', asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
With the absence of any major immediate domestic trigger in sight, investors would focus on global trends and trading activity of foreign investors for further cues in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude and rupee-dollar trend would also guide the market. "This week is a truncated one with no major triggers expected. However, we anticipate sector-specific movements amid budget-related buzz.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that after the US, global investors are looking upto India.
'Banks may find small ticket size lending economically unviable due to the cost of branch operations.'
"India's global image has taken a beating," Mallya said on the social networking platform Twitter.
As the results season kicks in, the quarterly earnings numbers of several blue-chip firms -- such as Infosys and Reliance Industries -- along with global trends and trading activity of foreign investors, will determine equity market movement in the holiday-shortened week ahead, according to analysts. The domestic WPI inflation data for June -- scheduled to be announced on Monday -- will also influence trading sentiments, traders said. Markets will remain closed on Wednesday for Muharram.
Between Kotak, Shapoorji and HDFC, fund managers have raised $700 million from investors