Analysts predict that the ongoing conflict in West Asia, crude oil price fluctuations, and the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision will significantly influence the Indian equity market this week.
The BSE Sensex has been one of the top-performing areas of investment in the past 40 years, consistently delivering double-digit returns in rupee terms, beating assets such as global equities, precious metals, and fixed income.
With discretionary spending still under pressure, the information technology (IT) services industry continued to face an uncertain demand environment in the third quarter of 2025-26 (Q3FY26).
After a 25 basis point rate cut in December, the RBI on Friday decided to pause on the policy rate front amid geopolitical uncertainties.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
The rupee has depreciated by 0.6 per cent so far in the current financial year.
The rupee is undervalued as compared to its peers, shows the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), even as the local currency keeps hitting new lows.
The rupee breached 90-levels against the greenback for the first time on Wednesday, falling 6 paise to 90.02 in early trade, as banks kept buying US dollars at higher levels and FII outflows continued.
India's forex reserves decreased by $2.119 billion to $723.608 billion during the week ended February 20, according to the RBI.
'In my entire career, whenever friends, relatives, or associates have sought my counsel, I have told them consistently: Stay away from equities. Buy gold. Place funds in fixed deposits. Acquire some raw land.' 'That is all one genuinely needs to build meaningful, enduring wealth, without the attendant anxiety of equity market participation.'
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday said there is no proposal to levy any charge on UPI transactions.
In a bid to promote the use of domestic currency for cross-border settlements, the Reserve Bank on Wednesday announced a slew of measures, including allowing banks to lend in Indian Rupees to non-residents from Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka for bilateral trade.
IndiGo airline will face near-term pressure on profitability from rising fuel prices following the escalation of conflict in West Asia, though it is likely to pass on higher costs to passengers over time because its ticket booking cycle is relatively short, according to a report by Moody's Ratings.
India's forex reserves jumped by $8 billion to an all-time high of $709 billion during the week ended January 23, the RBI said on Friday.
Speculation about rising competition from global majors has led to shares of major Indian automobile manufacturers such as Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Maruti Suzuki India, and Tata Motors taking a hit on the BSE.
India's economy is projected to maintain growth above 7 per cent in 2026-27 (FY27), supported by strong domestic consumption and investment, even as global growth faces risks from geopolitical tensions, according to industry body Assocham.
Escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia are prompting investors with exposure to Dubai's real estate market to reassess their portfolios. And, in this rejig, India is emerging as a stable destination for capital investment and long-term growth.
Overlap refers to the same stocks appearing across fund portfolios.
Foreign investors fled Indian equities in 2025 at a scale never seen before, pulling out a record Rs 1.6 lakh crore (USD 18 billion) as volatile currency movements, global trade tensions, especially potential US tariffs, and stretched valuations eroded risk appetite, though flows are expected to turn sustainably positive in 2026.
Foreign portfolio investors withdrew over Rs 22,530 crore ($2.5 billion) from Indian equities so far this month amid rising US bond yields and a stronger dollar, continuing their selling streak from last year. This came following an 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.
In the present hyper-connected world, there are many domestic and global factors that affect financial markets. Of them, the most powerful and often least predictable are geopolitical events, which often boil down to one diplomatic headline.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday announced a fresh round of liquidity measures through open-market operations (OMOs) and a foreign exchange buy-sell swap, under which it will inject close to Rs 3 trillion into the banking system. The central bank said it would purchase Government of India securities worth Rs 2 trillion through OMOs, spread across four tranches of Rs 50,000 crore each to be conducted on December 29, January 5, January 12 and January 22.
Raising overseas debt has become prohibitively expensive due to the depreciating rupee.
The total reserves increased to $701.3 billion on the back of a rise in foreign currency assets which increased by $9.6 billion to $560 billion during the reported week.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) does not target any price level on the rupee, Governor Sanjay Malhotra reiterated at an International Monetary Fund and World Bank event on Wednesday.
West Asia conflict triggers sharp sell-off in Indian markets, with realty, banking and auto stocks leading losses amid energy shock fears.
Largecap equity funds remain suitable for conservative and moderate risk-taking investors seeking relatively stable returns.
'We believe the truth is in the middle, and that India is at an important crossroads.'
The rupee continued to face pressure in the first half of the current financial year (FY26), hitting fresh lows against the dollar, due to strengthening of the greenback, rising crude oil prices, and foreign outflows. Rupee has depreciated by 3.7 per cent so far in the current financial year after starting at a good note in April.
India's foreign exchange reserves jumped by $14 billion to $701 billion during the week ended January 16, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. The overall reserves had increased by $392 million to $687 billion in the preceding week.
Alliances fight wars effectively only when they share an endgame. If Israel acted without US knowledge, then the military alliance is operating without real coordination at the level of strategic targeting. Neither picture is reassuring in a war that is no longer regional in its consequences. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Strong domestic growth will continue to draw foreign investment into the Indian economy, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Tuesday. He said this was reflected in recent free trade agreements and investment commitments by large technology companies.
Shrugging off concerns over the depreciation of rupee, the RBI has cut interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent in a bid to further bolster economic growth, which rose to a six-quarter high of 8.2 per cent in the second quarter of the current financial year.
Shrugging off concerns over the depreciation of rupee, the RBI has cut interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent in a bid to further bolster economic growth, which rose to a six-quarter high of 8.2 per cent in the second quarter of the current financial year.
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.
New investors should not allow themselves to fall prey to FOMO and rush headlong into gold.
The aggregate net worth of the country's 176 dollar billionaires dropped to $984.2 billion during 2025, down from a record $1,036.2 billion at the end of December 2024.
Shares of brokerage-related companies nosedived 18 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed raising securities transaction tax on commodity futures to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent in the Union Budget 2026-27.
New investors should gradually build a 5 to 10 per cent allocation to gold.
Domestic mutual funds have infused the highest ever -- Rs 4.84 trillion -- this year amid strong inflows via SIPs.
