Among the Sensex constituents, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki India, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the laggards. However, Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics Ltd, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
India's luxury auto market is rebounding after a slow start to 2025, with GST 2.0 emerging as the main catalyst.
From Rs 73k to over Rs 1.2L between January-December 2025 -- is buying gold in 2026 still sensible?
'The primary market's rhythm mirrors investor confidence. While sentiment may appear cautious, it reflects maturity, not weakness.'
New investors should gradually build a 5 to 10 per cent allocation to gold.
Officials from both India and the US in the recent past have indicated that a "fair deal" will be concluded soon, with Indian officials holding that more formal rounds of talks are not needed.
Gold prices skyrocketed by Rs 9,700 to scale a fresh peak of Rs 130,300 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday, lifted by safe-haven buying in the overseas markets and depreciation in the rupee.
Here's what Indian investors diversifying into equities, ETFs, and real estate abroad to manage risk, returns, and currency exposure must watch out for.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has retained its position as the highest-ranked Indian company on the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list, according to the latest rankings released by the publication. The oil-to-telecom-and-retail conglomerate has been ranked at No.88 on the latest list, down from 86th position in 2024.
Asian Paints reported a good performance for the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26), with some help from base effects, despite strong competition and extended monsoon. Volume grew in low double digits in the key domestic decorative paints, and value in that segment grew by 6 per cent. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) grew 21 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), and PAT (profit after tax) grew 14 per cent. Asian Paints also defended market share better after several quarters where it had lost ground to Birla Opus.
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Saturday said that the market forces decide the value of rupee with respect to the US dollar and the central bank is not worried about day-to-day movement of the currency value.
In the shadows of a sliding rupee, India's knitwear hub Tiruppur is weaving a success story. While the domestic currency edges closer to the 86 mark against the US dollar, triggering concerns for many sectors, this textile town in Tamil Nadu is finding opportunity in adversity: Between April and December alone, Tiruppur's exports reached Rs 26,000 crore, almost eclipsing last financial year's total of Rs 30,690 crore.
Given the stronger rural activity, and potential goods and services tax (GST) impact, investors are bullish on the two-wheeler (2W) segment. In August, dealers in the domestic market picked up 11 per cent more 2Ws year-on-year (Y-o-Y), despite only 2 per cent growth in retail registrations. This indicates inventory stocking ahead of the festival season. Export trends were good. TVS Motor and Royal Enfield may have gained domestic market share.
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday said the exchange rate policy has remained consistent over the years and the central bank does not target any 'specific level or band' of the rupee, which slipped to an all-time low of 87.59 to a US dollar. On Thursday, the rupee plunged 16 paise to close at a record low of 87.59 against the American currency. "I would like to mention here that the Reserve Bank's exchange rate policy has remained consistent over the years.
The weaker rupee will push the country's import bill due to higher payments for crude oil, coal, vegetable oil, gold, diamonds, electronics, machinery, plastics, and chemicals, economic think tank GTRI said on Friday. Citing an example, it said the depreciating domestic currency will increase India's gold import bill, especially as global gold prices have jumped 31.25 per cent, rising from $65,877 per kg in January 2024 to $86,464 per kg in January 2025.
'The biggest point of contention is market access for US agricultural and dairy products.'
Stock markets will be driven by RBI's interest rate decision, tariff-related developments, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors in this holiday-shortened week, analysts said.
The US' move to raise the tariff on most Indian goods to 50 per cent could drag India's GDP growth for FY26 by 35 to 60 basis points, according to various economists. One basis point (bp) is equal to 0.01 per cent.
'The frenzy for gold is primarily due to the uncertainty surrounding the tariff war.'
When we talk about Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), a few of their features that strike our mind are their low cost, easy-to-understand composition, and simple trading. While Index ETFs have always been popular among investors, Gold ETFs have garnered interest in recent years due to gold prices fluctuating near their all-time highs. But from a long-term investing context, do these ETFs really deliver?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) abstained from selling any US dollars throughout February, for the first time in nine months. The decision comes amid increasing pressure on the rupee, as expectations of rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve keep pushing back. The last time the RBI did not sell dollar over a month was in May 2023.
'I don't see 88 per dollar now.'
The impact of currency depreciation can also be mitigated by holding a portion of your investment portfolio in dollar-denominated assets.
A potential risk to the rupee's appreciation trajectory lies in the event of a delay in the Federal Reserve's rate cut cycle, particularly if core inflation in the US remains elevated.
The rupee tumbled 3 per cent against the US dollar in 2024 as concerns over slower economic growth and a stronger greenback in global markets weighed, but it was among the least volatile currencies in the world and the headwinds may be less intense in the coming year.
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.
Jayesh Gandhi, executive director, Morgan Stanley Investment Management in an interview with Business Standard, says Indian equities continue to remain a long-term bull story based on the growth prospect for the country and, hence, in a way cannot be ignored by global investors.
Despite corporate bond yields hardening by 20-25 basis points, Indian corporates are not warming up to bank funding for their capital expenditure needs as bank lending rates remain elevated due to the higher cost of liabilities, compared to current rates in the debt capital market.
Who are the gainers from all these economic policies of SEZs, weakening Rupee, tax breaks, etc? Obviously, it is fictitious exporters and shady foreign investors.
The foreign degree no longer sells itself, families are doing the math, and for many, the numbers just don't add up.
India's foreign exchange reserves fell for the fourth consecutive week after reaching an all-time high last month. In the week ending October 25, the forex reserves declined by $3.46 billion to $684.80 billion, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. In the three preceding weeks, reserves dropped by $3.7 billion, $10.7 billion, and $2.16 billion, respectively, the data showed.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) $10 billion US dollar-rupee buy-sell swap auction for three years received bids worth $16.23 billion on Friday, reflecting robust demand amid persistent liquidity deficit in the banking system. This was the second swap auction by the central bank after it infused $5 billion via six month-swap on January 31.
The rupee has held its ground against the US dollar in the 2025 calendar year so far, but depreciated significantly against the euro and pound. It fell by 6.83 per cent, and 5.44 per cent against the euro and pound respectively, as the two currencies strengthened significantly against the greenback during the period.
The Indian rupee may experience some volatility in the early days of Donald Trump's presidency, but it is likely to stabilise soon after, a report by the State Bank of India (SBI) said on Tuesday, terming this short term phenomenon as "Trump Tantrum".
By choosing your study destination carefully, leveraging government schemes, comparing loan options, and adopting frugal living practices, Indian students can acquire global credentials without mortgaging their futures.
The rupee remains overvalued against the currencies of India's trading partners, even as it hit record lows against the dollar in August and September. According to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) real effective exchange rate (REER) index, the rupee stood at 5.5 per cent above its fair value in August, down from 7.7 per cent in July. This slight easing followed fears of a US recession and the unwinding of yen carry trades, which exerted pressure on the Indian currency.
The depreciation in rupee may pose a problem for students who have taken loans from Indian lenders.
After depreciating 0.32 per cent against the dollar in October so far, the rupee is expected to hold ground against the greenback in the current quarter on the back of robust inflows. According to the median of a Business Standard poll of 10 respondents, the rupee is seen trading around 84 per dollar till the end of December. "In India's case, at least the bond and cash related inflows will continue.
Wholesale price inflation moderated to 2.31 per cent in January due to the decline in prices of food items especially vegetables, government data released on Friday showed. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation was 2.37 per cent in December 2024. It was 0.33 per cent in January 2024.
S&P Global Ratings on Thursday said about half of the Indian companies that it rates are getting a boost in their core profitability from rupee depreciation. "Much of our rated India corporate portfolio has sizable US-dollar linked revenue and, therefore, is not exposed to rupee depreciation. "This encompasses entities in the IT, metals, and chemicals sectors. About half of the firms we rate are getting an EBITDA boost from currency weakening," the US-based rating agency said in a report.
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