Our politicians need to take a leaf out of Mr Trump's personalised merchandise sale: It keeps his image in the public eye, continuing to engage him differently and innovatively with his supporters, points out Sandeep Goyal.
In Friday's market rally post the corporate tax cut, the country's top business promoters recouped more than two-thirds of the losses that they suffered in the post-Budget sell-off in equity markets.
The board of Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) has rallied behind its embattled chairperson Rashmi Saluja, saying she had turned around the financial services company whose market cap has increased to about a billion dollars from under $100 million in March 2018. The board -- which is fending off an Rs 2,200 crore open offer by the Burman family -- said accusations had not only targeted Saluja but the entire Religare management that has made Religare debt free. "Our story has been one of resurgence under the guidance of the Board of Directors led by Saluja, executive chairman.
HDFC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 5 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. On the other hand, Titan, Nestle India, Ultratech Cement and Sun Pharma were among the laggards. NSE Nifty surged 128.05 points to its all-time peak of 16,246.85.
India's stock markets are experiencing a shift in investor sentiment, with a 30 per cent surge in Chinese stocks, prompting investors to move money from domestic markets to China. This reversal of fortunes is a notable change from the past three years, where China's losses benefited India.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, and Sun Pharma were the major gainers. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Adani Ports, JSW Steel and Tata Motors were among the laggards.
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.
There has been a sharp slowdown in revenue and profit growth in the cement sector in recent quarters but it is yet to show in the share prices of cement companies. On the contrary, there has been a rally in cement stocks and a re-rating of their equity valuation in the past three years despite an earnings contraction during the period.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed with gains on Tuesday, following a firm trend in the global markets. Extending its previous day's rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 361.01 points or 0.60 per cent to settle at 60,927.43. During the day, it rallied 420.26 points or 0.69 per cent to 60,986.68.
From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paint, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries and Tata Steel were the biggest gainers. HDFC climbed 2.59 per cent after the housing finance major on Thursday reported a 20 per cent growth in standalone net profit to Rs 4,425 crore for the quarter ending March 2023 on the back of higher interest income. IndusInd Bank, Nestle, Power Grid, ITC, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major laggards.
Hundreds of students, who have been camping at Khwairamband Women Market since Monday, tried to march towards the Raj Bhavan along the BT Road but were stopped by security forces near the Congress Bhavan.
Investors' wealth climbed Rs 3.20 lakh crore as markets staged a smart comeback on Wednesday after falling in the last eight trading sessions. The BSE Sensex rallied 448.96 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 59,411.08. During the day, it jumped 513.33 points or 0.87 per cent to 59,475.45.
Analyst are cautious about the performance of IT services sector from January to March quarter (Q4) of FY24 and the first half (H1) of FY25. While the Bloomberg consensus on revenue implies the market is expecting 2-3 per cent growth on a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis for the IT majors through FY25, the H1FY25 is likely to see even flatter returns, and Q4FY24 is likely to be poor. There is likely to be some recovery in the second half (H2FY25) but even so, there's a chance that the market will be overall disappointed.
Delhi's crime rate against women stood at 144.4 in 2022 -- the highest among all states and Union Territories.
Mutual funds' equity buying remained elevated for the fifth consecutive month in December, taking the net equity purchase past Rs 1.7 trillion in 2023. The aggressive buying in December indicates that flows into equity funds are likely to have remained unaffected by the sharp run-up in the market last month. Mutual funds (MFs) bought equities worth Rs 23,000 crore last month (until December 28) compared to Rs 18,000 crore in November, shows data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
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.
From the Sensex pack, Infosys tanked over 8 per cent after the company reported a lower-than-expected 11 per cent rise in net profit for the June quarter and delivered a shocker as it slashed its FY24 growth outlook to 1-3.5 per cent on delayed decision-making by clients amid global macro uncertainties. Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra were the other major laggards. On the other hand, Larsen & Toubro rose the most by 3.88 per cent after it bagged an order of worth over Rs 7,000 crore from the bullet train project.
'The biggest near-term risk to Indian equities is the outflow of investments to China as tactical trades by foreign investors.'
Tata Steel was the top gainer among the Sensex constituents, surging around 8 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Kotak Bank, ONGC and UltraTech Cement. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Titan, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank were in the red.
Actively managed midcap and smallcap schemes that have struggled to beat the benchmark indices in the past year have managed to outperform the indices during the downturn phase. Barring a few schemes, all active funds in the two categories have managed to arrest the decline vis-a-vis the key benchmarks.
Just because India has outperformed the US markets in a short recent period, it does not mean that this is based on fundamental reasons that are here to stay, points out Debashis Basu.
'At this moment, investors should look for relative value within sectors and clear visibility (third-wave-or-not) on earnings delivery.'
Benchmark Sensex and Nifty closed at new lifetime high levels on Monday on foreign fund inflows and buying in index majors HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 529.03 points or 0.80 per cent to settle at its new all-time closing high of 66,589.93. During the day, it climbed 595.31 points or 0.90 per cent to hit its lifetime intra-day peak of 66,656.20. The NSE Nifty went up by 146.95 points or 0.75 per cent to end at a new record high of 19,711.45.
Global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, Christopher Wood, has cut his exposure to Indian equities by one percentage point in the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan relative-return portfolio, and Australia and Malaysia by half a percentage point each in favour of China, which has seen a hike in exposure by two percentage points. The rally in China has been fast-forwarded by the approach of a seven-day holiday with the CSI 300 Index up 8.5 per cent on Monday, and 25.1 per cent in five trading days, he said.
Elevated food price-led inflation could become a sore point for markets, which they seem to be ignoring at current levels, observe analysts. Retail inflation in India - as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) - came in at a three-month high of 6.52 per cent in January 2023, compared with 5.72 per cent in December and 5.88 per cent in November 2022. The inflation print for February, according to Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, will be critical for the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee.
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.
Equity markets would be mainly driven by global trends and foreign fund trading activity in the holiday-shortened week, analysts said. The BSE and the National Stock Exchange have listed March 7 (Tuesday) as a holiday on account of Holi. However, stock brokers' association ANMI has urged the government, exchanges and Sebi to shift the holiday to March 8 from March 7.
After lagging behind benchmarks and broader indices over the past five years, real estate investment trusts (Reits) have outperformed them since the start of 2024. The four listed Reits have posted an average return of 16 per cent year-to-date, compared to 9.9 per cent for the S&P BSE Sensex and 11 per cent for the National Stock Exchange Nifty.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal during his campaign rallies in Delhi, accusing him of being involved in the "liquor scam" and of being "afraid" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi also criticized Kejriwal's governance style, calling it "sheesh mahal politics" and accusing him of being absent when violence and hatred engulfed Delhi during the 2020 riots. He also attacked the BJP, accusing them of trying to change the Constitution and insulting the country's founding fathers.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, NTPC and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers. Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and JSW Steel were among the laggards.
Benchmark Sensex closed above the 85,000 level for the first time while Nifty scaled the 26,000 peak at close on Wednesday as fag-end buying in banking and power shares helped stock markets recoup early losses. After a see-saw trade during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 255.83 points or 0.30 per cent to settle at an all-time high of 85,169.87. During the day, it surged 333.38 points or 0.39 per cent to hit a record intra-day peak of 85,247.42.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Larsen & Toubro were the biggest gainers. Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.
Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by HUL, HDFC, ITC, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Tech Mahindra, L&T and Asian Paints. On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Nestle India, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
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.
Three Hindu temples were vandalized by a mob in Bangladesh's Chattogram on Friday, following protests and violence sparked by the arrest of a former ISKCON member on sedition charges. The attack occurred in the port city's Harish Chandra Munsef Lane, where the Shantaneshwari Matri Temple, the nearby Shoni Temple, and the Shantaneshwari Kalibari Temple were targeted. Temple authorities reported that a group of hundreds threw brickbats at the temples, causing damage to the Shoni Temple and the gates of the other two. The incident has triggered diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh, with both countries expressing concerns over the safety of their respective minorities.
Among the Sensex firms, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Nestle, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC were the major winners. Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the biggest laggards.
Nestle, Titan, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, ITC, JSW Steel and State Bank of India were the other laggards. Among the gainers, Tata Motors jumped nearly 6 per cent. Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance and Power Grid also ended in the positive territory.
Bharti Airtel was the biggest gainer, rising by over 4.51 per cent. Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, Infosys, JSW Steel and Mahindra & Mahindra were the other big gainers.
New investors should gradually build a 5 to 10 per cent allocation to gold.
Indian investors are paying hefty premiums to invest in China markets, with stocks there posting their biggest weekly gain in nearly 16 years. Savvy investors were seen making a dash to invest in the only two China-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) available in the domestic markets. On Friday, Mirae Asset Hang Seng Tech ETF closed at Rs 16.9 on the NSE, nearly
