Trade deals ease risks for Indian equities, but weak demand and stretched valuations raise questions over whether optimism -- especially in smallcaps -- can turn into a sustained bull run, points out Debashis Basu.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed on a flat note in a choppy session on Wednesday as gains in PSU banks and auto shares were offset by losses in IT stocks.
Market sentiment is likely to remain cautious as investors position themselves for the upcoming Union Budget and the US Fed's interest rate decision, where expectations are muted.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya revealed that 1342 athletes have been removed from the Khelo India programme in the last three years due to poor performance and doping violations, while 2905 new athletes have been inducted.
A Jefferies report warns that the IT services sector is set for a structural shift due to AI, requiring talent and operating model overhauls and increasing cyclicality.
Investors encountering underperformance must be patient.
Stock markets closed higher on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as expected and proposed allowing banks to lend to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with certain prudential safeguards to deepen the financing pool for the real estate sector.
Flexicap fund performance depends heavily on the fund manager's decisions.
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Shai Hope praises West Indies' squad depth after a nine-wicket win over Nepal seals Super Eights berth in the T20 World Cup, with Jason Holder and Matthew Forde starring.
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
After two years of strong gains, smallcap stocks fell sharply in 2025, but the correction may be setting up opportunities for long-term investors.
The value of the rupee, which has slipped to the 92 per dollar mark, does not accurately reflect India's stellar economic fundamentals, the Economic Survey said on Thursday.
Foreign investors have remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget amid expectations of limited policy changes.
A private marketing firm in Kerala has been accused of subjecting its underperforming employees to degrading treatment, including making them walk on their knees like chained dogs and lick coins from the floor. The state Labour department has ordered a probe into the alleged inhuman workplace harassment after disturbing visuals were aired by local television channels. The incident has sparked outrage and prompted investigations by the Labour department, the State Human Rights Commission, and the Kerala State Youth Commission.
Fund managers advise conservative investors to cap midcap exposure at 10 to 15 per cent of their equity portfolio.
The BSE Smallcap index hit an over eight-month low of 47,627.96, falling 3 per cent in Tuesday's intraday trade amid selling pressure due to ongoing tariff-related concerns and rising geopolitical tensions.
'Why has Maharashtra slipped up over the past couple of decades?' 'Not only is this question critical for residents of the state, but given that it accounts for 14% of India's GDP, a faster-growing Maharashtra implies a faster-growing India as well, point out Shishir Gupta and Rishita Sachdeva.
Restoring weighted tax deductions and adopting a petty patents regime can foster firm-level innovative activity critical for competitiveness, points out Nagesh Kumar.
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.
'We believe the truth is in the middle, and that India is at an important crossroads.'
Jewellery makers are set to post strong revenue growth in the 2025-26 (FY26) October-December quarter (Q3), supported by a robust wedding season and rising value growth, even as volumes decline.
India is growing fast, but to keep growing strong, the government must make more things at home, create jobs, and spend money wisely, suggests Rajiv Memani, regional managing partner, Africa-India Region, EY.
This is the second-worst performance by the pack during this period over the last five years since CY20.
In order to optimise branch efficiency, public sector banks (PSBs) are reworking their strategies to streamline operations and reduce cost amid changing customer behaviour. The strategies include closing or merging low traffic branches and reducing their size in smaller centres.
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.
Just over a year ago, India was investors' top pick among EMs. Its slide down the rankings follows $30 billion (over 2.5 trillion) of foreign selling over the past 12-13 months.
Passive funds appeal to investors seeking to avoid the risk of underperformance by the fund manager and minimise the need for frequent chopping and changing of funds.
The Nifty 50 index could rise around 24 per cent from current levels to 32,032 by December 2026 in a bull-case scenario, Kotak Securities said in a recent note. "We value Nifty at a 10 per cent premium (at 22x) to the 10-year average price-to-earnings of 20x on 2027-28 estimated (E) earnings per share (EPS) of Rs 1,456, and arrive at a December 2026 Nifty target of 32,032," the analysts wrote.
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This is the second biggest OTT acquisition in Kannada after Yash's KGF Chapter 2.
This exercise allows investors to realign their portfolios with changing market conditions and evolving personal objectives.
'Earnings growth will be the main driver of India's market in 2026, with profits expected to rise 9% to 10% in H2 FY26 and accelerate to 12% to 15% in FY27.'
'Stopping now would defeat the core purpose of an SIP, which is to average out the purchase cost over market cycles.'
The country's largest listed auto parts company by market capitalisation, Samvardhana Motherson International, reported a better than expected operating performance in the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26). Though the global passenger vehicle (PV) market is facing multiple headwinds, the company is outperforming on the back of higher content per vehicle and market share gains.
Largecap equities are less volatile than mid- and smallcap stocks, making them suitable for risk-averse investors.
India's corporate bond market, driven by public sector undertaking (PSU) banks and financial institutions last year, is losing momentum since the second quarter of FY26.
Anything is better than Mastiii 4, sighs Mayur Sanap.
'Indian markets may underperform global peers for the next two quarters.' 'But beyond that, India should catch up and resume its long-term growth path.'
From Rs 73k to over Rs 1.2L between January-December 2025 -- is buying gold in 2026 still sensible?
