India Financial News

NEW DELHI: India’s gadget buyers are shunning inexpensive smartwatches, a category that saw a massive surge in demand until two years ago. A lack of customer enthusiasm for barebone alternatives to the benchmark Apple Watch as well as existing buyers finding them unworthy of a second-time purchase, have caused smartwatch sales in the country to drop to its lowest in sales volumes and revenue in four calendar years.Data sourced by Mint from market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC) India showed that 28.9 million smartwatches were sold in 2025, generating net revenue of $780 million.

Lenskart, are also entering the fray with smart glasses aimed at real-time translation and contextual assistance.The logic is simple: if traditional smartwatches have become commoditized health trackers, AI-powered wearables could revive demand by becoming what founders describe as a “second brain”, devices that remember conversations, assist with speech, translate in real time and even complete tasks through voice commands.“AI-first wearables have the potential to revive a slowing category by transforming devices from passive trackers into intelligent companions that deliver real time health insights, personalization, and secure authentication,” said Anshika Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.Market projections reflect that optimism. The AI wearables segment in India generated $1.7 billion in revenue in 2023 and is projected to reach $12 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.

The Estée Lauder Companies has signed an agreement to acquire the stake it doesn’t already own in Indian luxury beauty company Forest Essentials, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2026, said Stéphane de La Faverie, president and chief executive officer of The Estée Lauder Companies.The deal completes an 18-year partnership with the luxury Ayurveda brand, which was founded by Mira Kulkarni.Forest Essentials sells Ayurvedic skincare and haircare products and competes with premium labels such as Kama Ayurveda. Estée Lauder had a 49% stake in the company in 2013, which it increased from a 20% stake it took in 2008.Speaking to Mint, La Faverie, said, “Today, this brand is the leader in prestige skincare in India, which is still a very small segment of the larger beauty business in India.

The day after the Union Budget on 1 February, US tariffs on Indian exports fell from 50% to 25%, and further to a promise of 18% through a trade deal. Later, the US Supreme Court verdict against ‘reciprocal’ tariffs resulted in a uniform levy of 10% on all countries, including India, possibly rising to 15%. Wherever it settles, there is some reprieve for labour-intensive export sectors.

Last week, India’s statistics ministry released its first estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) and other associated national accounts data with 2022-23 as the base year for a new GDP series. This is the second major economic indicator after the consumer price index (CPI) to have seen a base revision. Both these indicators had been using 2011-12 as base year, rendering them more than a decade old.

₹3,296 crore. Tuesday was a market holiday.On Wednesday, provisional BSE data showed that FIIs were net sellers of Indian equities worth Rs8,753 crore, while DIIs stepped in as net buyers, purchasing shares worth Rs12,068 crore.

Here are three stocks to buy or sell as recommended by Raja Venkatraman of NeoTrader for Thursday, 5 March.Best stocks to buy today (All Buy trades are rates of Equity & Sell rates are based on F&O)TRIVENI: Buy above ₹401, stop ₹378 target ₹448 (Multiday)GESHIP: Buy above ₹1360, stop ₹1275 target ₹1505 (Multiday)NATIONALUM: Buy above ₹373, stop ₹355 target ₹415 (Multiday)Broader markets underperformed, with both Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices slipping 2%. The rupee also weakened, breaching the 92-per-dollar level to hit a record intraday low of 92.30 before settling at 92.14, down 67 paise from its previous close.Among major laggards were Tata Steel, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, SBI Life Insurance, L&T, and JSW Steel, while Coal India, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra managed gains.Trends are clearly disturbed ; however, we continue to hold on to our view that “…we would be looking at the levels of 24500-24600 to hold.”. After a sharp drop yesterday the markets hesitatingly and gradually made their way higher.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lowered the repo rate by 125 basis points (bps) in this rate cut cycle and governor Sanjay Malhotra reiterated that rates will remain lower for longer. While banks have lowered both lending and deposit rates, these were not entirely in tandem.Amid all this, credit growth in the banking system continues to outpace deposit growth.

₹10-20 per megawatt-hour to ₹40-50, they remain below the ₹60-70 levels seen a year ago, said Aditya Malpani, senior director and regional business development head for west at Ampin Energy Transition, a renewable energy company that also trades I-RECs.Prices of RECs have remained steady around ₹350, as abundant supply has prevented a price increase despite high demand from industries and utilities looking to meet their renewable consumption obligations (RCOs) for FY26.“This increase happens generally at this time of year because corporates want to meet the 31 March target of sustainability,” Malpani said. “Both RECs and IRECs see an increase in demand at this point.”RECs are domestic instruments issued by the National Load Despatch Centre, typically used by state discoms and industrial power users to meet RCO targets.

A new wave of affluent buyers in their twenties and early thirties is driving growth in India’s luxury watch market, forcing global brands to reposition for a more aspirational consumer.The shift comes at a time when rising disposable incomes, a swelling base of high-net-worth individuals and easing import duties under India’s trade pact with the European Union are reshaping the premium timepiece landscape. Lower tariffs on Swiss watches are expected to narrow price gaps, intensify competition and accelerate premiumisation in a market that executives say is expanding rapidly.The luxury watch market is poised for strong expansion, with annual growth estimated at 11-12%, supported by the country's rising affluent base and growing wealth among high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), according to an October 2025 report by SOIC Research.The share of luxury and high-end watch sales has jumped from 48% in FY20 to 70% in FY25, indicating that Indian buyers are gravitating toward more exclusive, higher-value brands.

Stock market recap: It was a bloodbath on Dalal Street on Wednesday, as the Indian stock market suffered sharp losses on March 4 amid investor dumping of risk assets amid the ongoing US-Iran war, which shows no signs of easing.The conflict in West Asia has pushed crude oil prices significantly higher, stoking fresh inflation concerns and dealing a strong blow to expectations of near-term rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of India.Sensex crashed 1,123 points, or 1.40%, to end at 79,116.19, while the Nifty 50 plunged 385 points, or 1.55%, to close at 24,480.50. The BSE 150 MidCap Index crashed 2.26%, while the BSE 250 SmallCap Index suffered a loss of 2.24%.India VIX jumped over 23% to hover above the 21 mark, indicating heightened nervousness in the market.Buy: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd(current price: ₹1,750)Buy: Solar Industries India Ltd (current price: ₹14,523)Indian equities ended sharply lower on March 4, with Nifty 50 declining 385 points, or 1.55%, to close at 24,480.50, after slipping to an intraday low of 24,305.40.

On National Science Day each year on 28 February, we rightly celebrate discovery and innovation. India’s scientific community has earned that recognition. However, the role of science in national life has changed in ways that are not immediately obvious.

₹815 crore on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s overseas visits since he took office in 2014, covering 78 countries across 99 trips, according to data shared in Parliament last month.The disclosures offer a detailed snapshot of how frequently he travels, which countries dominate his itinerary and what that outreach has cost the exchequer. Overseas travel has been a central plank of Modi’s diplomatic strategy, with the prime minister frequently engaging global leaders in person.A Mint analysis of the data shows that, adjusted for inflation, the total outlay amounts to just over ₹1,000 crore in current prices. In all, Modi has spent 352 days abroad across his three terms.

Oil and its derivatives account for 40-70% of raw material costs of these sectors, which leaves (their) margins vulnerable to rising crude prices,” said Devarsh Vakil, head of prime research at HDFC Securities.Indian markets have faced similar pressure before. When Brent crude surged 73% to a peak of $130 per barrel between December 2021 and March 2022, shortly after the Russia-Ukraine war began, India Inc.’s profit margins came under swift pressure.A Mint analysis of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data shows that operating profit margins of oil refiners, rubber product makers, tyre and tube manufacturers, and paint companies compressed by an average 140 basis points between the December quarter of FY22 and the June quarter of FY23.While most sectors began to feel mild pressure as early as Q4FY22, the squeeze peaked for rubber products and tyre and tube makers in Q1FY23.

Past conflicts in the Middle East typically hit India at the gas station. This time, the risks transcend oil, threatening everything from smartphone exports to New Delhi’s fragile finances.Flames have reached the United Arab Emirates, India’s second-largest electronics export destination after the US. Beyond being an entrepôt for regional trade, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are wealth hubs for the Indian elite.

oil and petro-products to deal with short-term disruptions. The Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas has formed a 24×7 control room to continuously monitor the supply and stock position across the country.State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs)—Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp.

Exits from international subsidiaries and associate companies in Japan, Finland and Sri Lanka in the financial year 2026 have narrowed the list of loss-making foreign companies for Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, which is resetting its international business to back profitable businesses.The exits from international subsidiaries and joint ventures in the three countries have helped Mahindra and Mahindra shed companies with total annual losses of about ₹313 crore or 2.2% of its consolidated profit of ₹14,073 crore as of 31 March 2025.With these exits, the major loss-making foreign subsidiaries of the Mumbai-based company have narrowed down to companies in the US, Turkey, Mauritius and Germany, which together posted losses of ₹670 crore, or 4.7% of the company’s consolidated profits for FY25.Mahindra’s strategy to curb losses in its international businesses has come into focus after its exit from its Japanese subsidiary, Mitsubishi Mahindra Agricultural Machinery, on Monday, which it said will help reduce losses from a business it acquired in 2015.“On completion of the liquidation procedure, the promoter group would not have to incur the annual loss as well as fund these losses,” the company said in an exchange filing on Monday.The company’s renewed focus on exiting loss-making international businesses to double down on its high-growth areas and markets comes at a time when group chief executive Anish Shah is set to complete five years at the helm next month.Since taking over in 2021, Mahindra under Shah has exited several key international loss-making businesses as it seeks to increase profitability.

In 2016, Pranav Doshi, then an executive with the Canadian consulate, decided to move 2,000 kilometres away from their home in Mumbai. Doshi’s wife was given an option to choose between Unilever Plc’s London and Dubai offices, and she picked the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. “We selected Dubai because we had a young child, and wanted family support; that was not possible in London,” said Doshi, 47.

₹12,195 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme was introduced in February 2021 to encourage the local manufacture of equipment such as network switches, transmission gear and set-top boxes.Out of the scheme's 42 applicants, 19 including Samsung have not claimed or received any incentive, data showed. Only 15% of the scheme's outlay was actually disbursed, even as its five-year run ends this month.Companies which have chosen FY23 as base year will have one year left (FY27) to claim incentives on incremental sales, whereas investments under the scheme were only allowed till FY26 for all the scheme participants.Samsung India Electronics, which applied for the scheme in 2022, chose to withdraw because it found local manufacturing unviable given limited customer demand for its telecom gear, an industry expert said.

Companies Act requires every listed company to appoint independent directors constituting at least one-third of its board. The report shows that the highest number of independent directors on a single board in the last four years (FY22-FY25) was eight in FY22, a level seen in three listed companies. The number is down to five, seen in a single company.Gender diversity on boards also remained skewed.

₹5.24 trillion as of January, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi). Over the past year, there were 37 new fund offers in these categories, compared with 19 across the broader equity segment.While Sebi permits only one scheme per category in most equity segments, there is currently no limit on the number of sectoral and thematic funds that an AMC can launch. This had led to a surge in offerings built around similar stocks packaged under different narratives.With the 50% cap in place, maintaining multiple differentiated active strategies within a constrained universe may prove difficult.