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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The lead-up to Budget 2026 has been particularly vibrant in railways, where a combination of fare rationalization and expectations of another year of elevated capital expenditure has driven a sharp rally in railway-linked stocks.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ahead of Budget 2026, markets are positioning for continued heavy public capex in roads, railways, and energy, with clear sector-specific triggers and a strong thematic bid in related stocks.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For as long as most working professionals can remember, money has cost nothing. Not literally nothing, of course, but close enough that the difference didn't matter.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Private sector banks are signalling that net interest margins (NIMs) are likely to remain resilient in the March quarter, even as the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI's) 25 basis point (bps) repo rate cut last month begins to transmit more fully into lending rates.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: India’s two largest private-sector lenders, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, are expected to post a steady performance for the December quarter, supported by firm loan growth, improving margins and controlled operating costs, five brokerages said ahead of results on Saturday. However, seasonal marginal pressures on asset quality, particularly agriculture-linked products, may lead to a moderate rise in slippages.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The pall of gloom around India’s outsourcing industry, a $200 billion-plus exporting powerhouse, was lifted overnight by Infosys. After the company raised its full-year sales forecast, investors took optimistic commentary from management as a sign that large client orders are coming back.

About the author: Carolyn Kissane is the associate dean of the NYU-School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs, and the founding director of the SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab.Guest commentaries like this one are written by authors outside the Barron’s newsroom. They reflect the perspective and opinions of the authors. Submit feedback and commentary pitches to [email protected] all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint.

About the author: Emir Phillips is an associate professor of finance at Lincoln University. His research on central banking and the political economy has appeared in the Cambridge Journal of Economics and the Journal of Economic Issues.Nearly 20 years after Satoshi Nakamoto debuted Bitcoin as the ultimate banking disrupter, banks are still here. Central banks are bigger than ever.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : Electric vehicle investment write-offs by global auto giants, and a general automotive slowdown in demand, are sending some European auto component suppliers into bankruptcy, creating a potential business opportunity for Indian parts manufacturers as customers shift orders away from the distressed vendors.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Voltas Ltd’s FY26 is set to be a forgettable one. Consolidated revenue for the year is expected to decline.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Stock market recap: Indian stock market benchmarks – the Sensex and the Nifty 50 – ended in losses for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, 17 December, on persisting concerns over the rupee's weakness, foreign capital outflows and a delay in the India-US trade deal. The Sensex closed with a loss of 120 points, or 0.14%, at 84,559.65, while the Nifty 50 ended at 25,818.55, down 42 points, or 0.16%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. At the behest of a handful of Silicon Valley executives, officials within the Trump administration and their allies in Congress are trying yet again to prohibit states from regulating AI companies. Even as House members heard about the horrific impact of AI chatbots on children, its GOP leadership tried to insert federal pre-emption of state AI laws into the unrelated National Defense Authorization Act.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Indian benchmark indices ended the day on a negative note, paring gains from the previous session's record highs as profit-booking in heavyweight Financials and Energy stocks weighed down the market.

cut-off yield coming at 6.49%, in line with market levels, traders said. Falling US yields increased the appeal of Indian bonds, where yields of the 10-year benchmark closed at 6.46%, three basis points below its previous closing, CCIL data showed.

Information Technology stocks slumped by as much as 10% on Thursday amid renewed inflation concerns in the US, following President Donald Trump's announcement of long-anticipated reciprocal tariffs. The Nifty IT index tumbled 4.2% — the biggest loser among sector indices. Shares of Persistent Systems plunged 10%, while Coforge dropped nearly 8%. TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Mphasis, LTIMindtree, and HCL Technologies declined between 3% and 4%.

Manishi Raychaudhuri, Veteran Investor, says India is somewhere in the middle of the pack. Headline tariffs show that some Southeast Asian countries have been slapped with much larger tariffs. So all this is playing out, and the market did not have a drastic fall post the tariff announcement. However, we should not lull ourselves into a sense of security, just going by what we are seeing today. Tariffs at the rate of 34% have been slapped on China, add 20% of historical tariff and that makes it 54%. It is 26% in India, 40% in Vietnam and when such tariffs are slapped, financial markets get into a panic mode. But that is not happening. It is a good morning for Asia this morning. Markets have recovered from the day's low. Are markets getting complacent or it is time to move on? Manishi Raychaudhuri: To some extent, there is the possibility of demand retrenchment across the world, but particularly in the United States, that situation has not yet been factored in. The initial reaction of the market despite this is what I call a nuclear trade, almost a ‘nuclear battle’ in a sense in the trade regime.

«This is pulling back investment and it is likely to have slightly inflationary impacts in the US in particular, which means slightly more elevated interest rates and this is going to impact Asia-Pacific through tighter monetary policy,» says Vishrut Rana, S&P Global Ratings. Let me first up ask you about the tariffs, the impact that this is going to have globally. We have been getting a lot of commentary. At one point in time you think that Trump is going to go all out, all aggressive. This morning you got comments where he said April 2nd is when he will put the reciprocal tariffs, but they will be lenient. How should one read into all of these developments and react to that? Vishrut Rana: Indeed in these highly uncertain times a lot to watch out for. So, the impact of tariffs on the global economy is going to be significant. We think that it is already having an impact in terms of delaying investment plans for firms across the region until there is more clarity in terms of where the trade tensions are going to materialise.

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), market expert Anshul Saigal, Founder of Saigal Capital remains steadfast in his conviction: ignore the noise, focus on risk-reward, and when the moment is right, “go for the jugular.” In a candid interaction with ETNow, Saigal, who brings over two decades of market experience to the table, emphasized that great investment decisions stem from conviction, not prediction. Drawing inspiration from investing legend Stanley Druckenmiller, Saigal quoted, “When the odds are favourable, go for the jugular.”

Chennai Super Kings despite handing over captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad, the talismanic Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he is instead focussed on reinventing himself and his strokes to «stay relevant» in the IPL. Speaking to 'JioStar' after CSK's four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their lung-opener on Sunday night here, Dhoni spoke about the team dynamics under Gaikwad, his own form and also the regional commentary being done in the ongoing league. "...batsmen are now willing to take risks. They believe that with proper cricketing shots, they can play big strokes, and at the same time, they are improvising with their shot selection...whether it's a reverse scoop against a fast bowler, a sweep, or a reverse sweep against a pacer. «I am no different, I have to adapt as well. This is what is required of me for where I am batting. You have to try and stay relevant,» Dhoni said. «The way we played T20 in 2008 and the way we played IPL last year, it's very different. Earlier, there was a lot of turn in the wickets. Wickets were two-paced. Now, India's wickets have become much better; they are more batter-friendly,» he explained. The 43-year-old, under whom CSK won five IPL titles, handed over the leadership to Gaikwad at the beginning of the 2024 season. He said although he discusses things with Gaikwad, he refrains from persuading him to follow his advice.

Trump administration, triggering macro-economic uncertainties and fears of a potential recession. “Demand uncertainties from the second half of calendar year 2024 (2HCY24) have trickled into calendar year 2025 estimated (CY2025E) budgets, implying continued weakness in financial year 2026 estimated (FY2026E),” Kotak Institutional Equities said in a report on the IT sector. The IT services industry clocked the healthiest earnings rebound in six quarters in the October-to-December period backed by a modest uplift in business led by the key banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical. This had raised hopes of a likely boost in revenue growth from the low to high single digits in 2025 at top-tier firms such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and HCLTech.

Indian equity markets appear poised for a structural upside, believes Vikas Khemani, founder of Carnelian Asset Advisors. In an interaction with ET Now, Khemani emphasized how this correction was much needed and how we can now prepare for a structural market upswing. He outlined the critical factors that are expected to shape investor sentiment and drive market direction in the near term.