Residents of Ahmedabad recall the Air India crash of June 2025 after news of the Baramati plane crash involving Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The earlier tragedy, which killed hundreds, remains a painful memory for those who witnessed it and lost loved ones.
The rupee recovered 55 paise from its all-time low level to close at 90.38 against the US dollar after a volatile trade on Wednesday, amid suspected aggressive central bank intervention.
The Indian economy is growing at a robust pace, driven by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and the healthy balance sheets of banks, said a Reserve Bank report released on Wednesday.
In an event-heavy week ahead, stock markets are expected to track Q3 corporate earnings from several blue-chip firms, including TCS and Infosys, while inflation data and global trends would also dictate investors' sentiment, analysts said.
Silver prices rallied sharply by Rs 15,000 to hit a lifetime high of Rs 265,000 per kg in the national capital on Monday, and gold advanced to a fresh record of Rs 144,600 per 10 grams, mirroring strong gains in the global markets.
The previous largest weekly decline was recorded in the week ended November 15, 2024.
Gold ETFs attracted around Rs 11,700 crore, the highest in a calendar month.
'We expect modest returns in 2026 versus the steep gains seen over the past few years.'
ilver continues to outperform the yellow metal, with the gold-to-silver price ratio declining to its lowest level since 2013. The ratio fell to around 57 on Wednesday in the international market, from a five-year high of 100.8 at the end of April 2025.
The Delhi High Court has stated that the amount of interim maintenance for a spouse cannot be determined with mathematical precision, while hearing a case to enhance a woman's interim maintenance.
Macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would be major driving factors for market movement this week, analysts said. Unabated capital infusion by domestic institutional investors have supported the positive trend in the stock market last week, traders said.
The rupee plunged 26 paise to an all-time low of 90.75 against the US dollar in intra-day trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
The rupee fell 23 paise against the greenback to settle at a new all-time low of 91.01 (provisional) on Tuesday, weighed down by relentless foreign fund outflows, no breakthrough in India-US trade deal, and persistent US dollar buying.
The 2025 contraction marks the steepest decline in both the number of billionaire promoters and their aggregate wealth since 2012.
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.
A trade deal makes sense only if it is fair and reciprocal. If the cost is strategic dependence or loss of policy space, waiting is the wiser option, asserts Ajay Srivastava.
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday said the central bank does not target any band for the rupee in the forex market, and allows the domestic currency to find its own correct level.
The Indian economy is likely to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2025-26, up from 6.5 per cent in the previous fiscal, mainly on account of better performance of manufacturing and services sectors, as per the government data released on Wednesday.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics, Power Grid, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, and Bajaj Finserv were among the biggest gainers. However, HCL Tech, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, and Sun Pharma were the laggards.
Domestic mutual funds have infused the highest ever -- Rs 4.84 trillion -- this year amid strong inflows via SIPs.
Gold and silver prices are poised to maintain their record-setting rally in the coming week as investors focus on global inflation data and key macroeconomic indicators that shape central bank policy paths, analysts said.
WPI inflation data, trading activity of foreign investors and global cues would dictate trends in the stock market this week, analysts said.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
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.
This exercise allows investors to realign their portfolios with changing market conditions and evolving personal objectives.
Investors must account for currency depreciation in their financial plans and use instruments that can cushion the erosion in purchasing power.
The core dilemma remains: Why provide further stimulus to an economy that is already booming at an 8 per cent growth rate? asks Rajeswari Sengupta.
The US Fed's interest rate decision will be the major factor dictating trends in the domestic equity market this week, with global movements and foreign investor activity also influencing sentiment, according to analysts. Stock markets ended the last week on a subdued note, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closing flat.
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.
After a brief pause in October, foreign investors resumed selling, pulling out a net Rs 3,765 crore from Indian equities in November, driven by global risk-off sentiment, volatility in global tech stocks and selective preference for primary markets over secondary markets.
Travel firms expect package prices to rise by 5 to 10 per cent, depending on destination and inclusions.
The Adani group, which operates across multiple infrastructure sectors, with 12 listed entities in India and a combined market capitalisation of about $200 billion, remains "anchored by strong assets and robust cash flows", according to a Bank of America (BofA) report.
So far this year, the rupee has fallen by 4.2 per cent, the worst among its Asian peers.
UBS has turned bullish on emerging markets (EM), including India, as it finds benign macro trends, positive momentum in earnings revisions, and resilient EM currencies helping these economies sustain higher valuations and attracting flows. Among regions, it has upgraded Mainland China to 'attractive' and China Tech to 'most attractive', while downgrading Philippines to 'neutral'.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that BRICS was established to "hurt" the US and "degenerate" the dollar as he warned that the member countries of the bloc would face a 10 per cent tariff. Trump made the remarks while talking to reporters at the sixth Cabinet meeting at the White House.
From the Sensex firms, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Bajaj Finance and Reliance Industries were among the major laggards. However, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Electronics, UltraTech Cement and Maruti were among the gainers.
The rupee declined 22 paise to 87.41 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday after the latest tariff announcements from the US weighed on emerging currencies, including the rupee. Forex traders said the latest tariff announcements from the US have sent shockwaves through global markets, strengthening the dollar.
The Indian government has expressed its disagreement with the IMF staff's 'baseline' assumption that the 50 per cent US tariffs on its goods exports 'would remain in place indefinitely', based on which the staff pegged the country's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent this year, and pared its 2026-27 projection by 20 basis points to 6.2 per cent.
Among Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Bharat Electronics, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Axis Bank were the major laggards. However, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
New investors should not allow themselves to fall prey to FOMO and rush headlong into gold.
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