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The NSE Nifty surged 325.55 points, or 1.45%, to close at 22,834.30. The BSE Sensex rose 1131.31 points, or 1.53%, to end at 75,301.26. Both indices have risen about 2% in the last two days.

Vedanta shares are expected to remain in focus on Tuesday, March 18, following positive commentary from Chairman Anil Agarwal on the company’s growth outlook and demerger plans. Agarwal's letter to stakeholders outlined Vedanta’s strategy to leverage India’s natural resources sector and enhance shareholder value through the proposed demerger. Agarwal highlighted that Vedanta contributes approximately 1.4% to India’s GDP, with the natural resources sector playing a crucial role in economic growth. He emphasized that India’s demand for aluminum, copper, and zinc is growing at double-digit rates, positioning Vedanta to capitalize on rising consumption.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The statistics ministry recently released a bunch of fresh data-sets related to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) across three years, including a guesstimate of expected economic growth for the current year ending on 31 March.

«In the interim, flows can have some excesses, but we really feel that we have reached the bottom on Nifty. You can never say never, but largely we think we are done. Because even if you take earnings post downgrades, broadly next year will be 1200 rupees of earnings and 26-27 would be 1350 rupees of earnings,» says Sanjay H Parekh, Sohum Asset Managers. Give us a lowdown on where you feel the markets are headed from here. Do you think we have bottomed out enough because we had slipped below that 22,000 mark initially in the first half of the trading day? We have managed to recover only nominally from there. But do you believe that this is the worst for the market and now would be a good time for FIIs and along with them some confidence to return in the market? Sanjay H Parekh: So, essentially, our product is Nifty benchmark where we have at least 70% always in largecap. In fact, our average largecap holding has been 78%. So, I will just give you a perspective of how we think about Nifty to begin with. So, we think now the risk-return is really favourable.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The deal President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to sign Friday hinges on a bullish view of Ukraine’s critical mineral wealth. Both parties have reason to project optimism.

ICC Champions Trophy, former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has shown unwavering faith in India's prospects whilst backing Virat Kohli to produce a decisive performance.

Geoff Dennis, Independent Emerging Markets Commentator, says even if the dollar gains strength again, it won't rise significantly enough to heavily impact the rupee. A strong rebound in the dollar would mainly affect currencies that have already increased a lot, such as the Brazilian real and the Mexican peso. Therefore, I would cautiously and gradually look to rebuild my positions in India, while remaining skeptical as an emerging market investor about the situation in China. Today is one of those rare days where we have not had any commentary coming in from Trump this morning with regards to tariffs. But how should one actually brace themselves, given the fact that every day you have a new addition to the tariff list? Geoff Dennis: Well, there is a lot of uncertainty about tariffs. There is a lot of uncertainty as to what we get with tariffs and when and who will be impacted by it. But at the moment, there is not a lot in the way of a new narrative. If you look at what the markets are doing with bond yields having pulled back in the US from 4.8 to 4.5 for 10 years, the dollar being weaker on the year, particularly since the middle of January, it looks to me that the peak of the Trump trade has passed. We have seen some profit taking, some rotation.

Stock market investors enjoyed lofty annual returns over the past two years. However, 2025 may not offer a «three-peat,» investment analysts say.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In the prologue to ISRO: A Personal History, the book I co-wrote with my husband, R. Aravamudan—one of the first to join India’s fledgling space programme in 1962—he described the excitement and anxiety that preceded the first-ever launch from Sriharikota on 10 August 1979.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The first full-year budget of India’s new National Democratic Alliance government, sworn in after the 2024 general election, was presented against the backdrop of a noticeable slowdown in economic growth over the last four quarters. I discussed the issue of whether this slowdown is cyclical or structural in a recent column for Mint, summarizing it as being an issue of expectations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Tata Motors Ltd’s shares nosedived to a new 52-week low of ₹683.20 apiece on Thursday, following muted December quarter (Q3FY25) results accompanied by adverse management commentary, especially with regards to its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) business. The management has lowered JLR revenue guidance by 3% for FY25, while remaining optimistic of improving JLR wholesale sales further in the March quarter (Q4FY25) led by seasonality even as demand is particularly slow in China.

The Chinese government is trying to encourage people to spend more by ensuring that share prices will rise, ordering pensions and mutual funds to invest more in domestic stock markets

Vivian Jenna Wilson.

Jitendra Gohil, Chief Investment Strategist, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers, says one can start nibbling in this sector. But one has to be cautious of auto ancillaries that are exposed to the global auto sectors as there is a lot of glut there. But from the domestic side, tractors and CV players, especially CV financiers, are in a better position in this market. Also, midcap IT companies which support defence industries, are looking pretty good. Hiring is picking up. So, the outlook of some of the hiring companies dealing with IT manpower has also brightened. Let’s look at the rural consumption/ recovery story. Is FMCG staples something that you will be looking out for? In the auto space, can somebody look at the tractor space as well as of late a few of the fund managers and investors are flagging off this space as attractive. Jitendra Gohil: In terms of rural recovery, the tractor segment looks decently positioned. The kharif output is also expected to be around 4% up. Rural recovery probably is a good play and if I look at the auto sector, we have been negative and underweight on this sector. But now looking at the correction that has happened, generally the March quarter is good for four-wheelers and even for CV cycle as due to the depreciation benefit that they get, the March quarter should be very strong for auto companies.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) led the rally in large-cap information technology shares, as investors were encouraged by the country's largest software exporter's commentary on the demand outlook after its third-quarter results. The Nifty IT Index gained 3.4% on Friday, led by a 5% jump in TCS shares. The company posted a 12% increase in net profit in the December quarter compared to the previous year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) delivered what the Street had been eagerly awaiting—an optimistic demand outlook. The management of the IT services major highlighted early signs of recovery in discretionary demand across key sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), and consumer, during its December quarter (Q3FY25) earnings call.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The December quarter (Q3FY25) is seasonally weak for the Indian IT sector due to furloughs and fewer working days. Thus, no fireworks are anticipated.

Shibani Sircar Kurian, Senior EVP, Sr. Fund Manager & Head -Equity Research, Kotak Mahindra AMC, says larger IT stocks are fairly in line with market valuations and therefore, she continues to be positive on the sector as a whole. However, this quarter, one should watch out for commentary in terms of deal flow as well as expectations going forward. The rupee depreciation will help in terms of margins and therefore margins should remain largely stable. As far as auto stocks are concerned, commodity costs remaining under control are helping in terms of margins, but the main thing to watch out for will be volume growth over the next couple of months as such. Is it going to be ‘happy days’ for FMCG? Will staples finally bottom out or will pressure continue? Shibani Sircar Kurian: It has been a mixed bag as far as the consumer and staples pack goes. What we have been noticing and what management commentary over the last few quarters has been is that while the urban demand has been somewhat slowing down, there is an uptick that we are seeing on the rural side. Overall, it is still a fairly mixed bag in terms of growth. Even if you saw the last quarter numbers, the volume growth numbers were fairly muted.

December-quarter performance will show improvements on currency tailwinds, but caution will unlikely cease its vigil, as India’s $254-billion technology outsourcing industry grinds its way out of a relatively protracted stagnation that was caused by circumspect budgeting in its primary revenue generating markets.

Anupam Mittal, Shark Tank India judge and founder of People Group, welcomed the New Year with a sharp dose of sarcasm, blending humor with commentary on the hotly debated topic of a 70-hour work week. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mittal cheekily addressed the ongoing discussion, writing, “All those worried about 70-hour work weeks, relax!” He further added a futuristic twist, saying, “AI gonna take our jobs so we will have all the time to chill in 2025,” pairing his unconventional message with a Happy New Year greeting.

Elon Musk drew criticism from German politicians from the government and opposition on Sunday for an opinion piece he wrote backing the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) which they deemed «intrusive» outside influence.