Experts Financial News

Nuvama Institutional Equities has initiated coverage on Afcons Infrastructure Ltd (AIL) with a ‘buy’ rating and a target price of Rs 535, as it believes that the company is ‘in a league of its own’. The target price given by the brokerage firm implies a 23% upside potential from current levels.

The Nifty futures closed positively with gains of 0.80%, at 22,620 levels on Thursday.

global economic uncertainty and market volatility, retail investors are being advised to hold some cash reserves rather than deploying all their capital into equities. Pankaj Pandey, Head of Research at ICICIdirect, cautioned that persistent global risks, including policy paralysis and trade tensions, could trigger further corrections in the Indian stock market. Speaking in an ET Now interaction, Pandey emphasized that uncertainty regarding global growth and inflation remains, primarily due to ongoing trade disputes between the world’s two largest economies. He warned that the market might not be fully factoring in the potential risks, making it prudent for investors to maintain some liquidity.

menstrual leave policy for its women employees. The announcement, made by Chairman and Managing Director S N Subrahmanyan, came during Women's Day celebrations at the company's Powai office in Mumbai. This policy, a first in the industry, is expected to benefit around 5,000 women employees, who constitute 9% of L&T’s 60,000-strong workforce. The provision, however, is limited to L&T’s core engineering and construction divisions, excluding its financial and technology subsidiaries, which already offer work-from-home and flexible arrangements. The specifics regarding its implementation, including whether it will be an additional paid leave or part of existing entitlements, remain unclear.

NATO allies, saying he would not do so if they are not paying enough for their own defense. «It's common sense, right,» Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. «If they don't pay, I'm not going to defend them. No, I'm not going to defend them.» Trump said he has been of this view for years and shared it with NATO allies during his 2017-2021 presidential term. Those efforts prompted more spending from other members of the 75-year-old transatlantic alliance, he said, but «even now, it's not enough.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s boardrooms remain stubbornly gray, although some transformative strokes are visible. As women slowly move beyond mere presence to actively claim seats at the decision-making table, it’s the smaller firms that are leading the charge.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: A group of trade experts advising the government on its trade negotiations with the Donald Trump administration has recommended that India prepare to levy tit-for-tat tariffs on American goods that enjoy significant market access in India and that contribute to a sizeable US trade surplus in these product categories.

Taylor Swift is embroiled in a legal battle over Blake Lively's lawsuit against her co-star Justin Baldoni from It Ends With Us due to their close friendship. Swift's silence has fueled speculation about her potential testimony and calculated brand protection strategy, particularly since the trial is set for 2026. Taylor Swift is in an awkward legal position as the case progresses due to Baldoni's lawsuit, which alleges that Lively used their friendship to pressure him into changing the script.

Minnesota Vikings started their off-season activities with a safety, Theo Jackson, who received a two-year agreement valued at $12.615 million. Jackson participated in every Vikings game the past season before his pending restricted free agent status. The Vikings invested in extending Jackson’s contract despite his primary role as a special teamer because they foresee him taking on defense responsibilities in the future.

Meghan Markle and host Drew Barrymore had a fun moment on The Drew Barrymore Show. The Duchess of Sussex teased the actor for her famous love of physical affection. Markle, 43, appeared on the programme on Thursday to discuss her new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan.

income tax department to encourage taxpayers to declare foreign assets and income has resulted in taxpayers disclosing foreign assets worth ₹29,208 crore, said people familiar with the matter. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched the compliance-cum-awareness campaign in November 2024, leveraging data from more than 125 countries to nudge taxpayers to come clean about their overseas holdings. The four-month drive resulted in 30,161 taxpayers declaring foreign assets, with 24,678 reviewing their income tax returns (ITRs) and 5,483 filing belated returns, said the people. «The campaign yielded significant results, with 24,678 taxpayers reviewing their ITRs and 5,483 taxpayers filing belated returns for AY (assessment year) 2024-25, declaring foreign assets worth ₹29,208 crore and additional foreign income of ₹1,089.88 crore,» said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.

The apartments spread over a total built up area of 5,045 sq ft on the 18th and 19th floor of the tower to four different buyers. These four apartments also include a duplex spanning over 18th and 19th floor and this has been sold for Rs 6.35 crore. The deals were registered on Monday and has attracted cumulative stamp duty worth Rs 84.47 lakh, showed the documents accessed through IndexTap.com. Priyanka’s mother Madhu Chopra has executed both the deals on the actor’s behalf.

Santander banking services have been down in a major outage, leaving customers unable to get onto banking services, make payment transfers while facing other issues. This follows a series of outages across major high street banks, which have caused the apps of several leading banks to be briefly offline. Over 600 customers have reported issues with the bank on outage-tracking site Downdetector. The issue first arose around 12.30 pm today, with hundreds of users reporting problems across the bank’s services, and more than half of those reports flagging issues with payments, according to service status website Downdetector.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The recent rebound in India’s stock market could stretch by 1.4% in the short term, said market experts, although they warned that it could be a mere bounce within a larger downtrend as foreign investors remain significantly bearish in the domestic cash and derivatives segment. On Thursday, stock market bulls kept India’s benchmark indexes up for a second straight day following 10 straight sessions of battering.

At Investment Week's Fixed Income Market Focus on 13 March at One Moorgate Place in London, speakers will discuss their outlook for fixed income in the current market environment, as difficult decisions loom for governments and central banks as the year unfolds. They will also identify where opportunities are opening up for bond investors across the spectrum, how they are managing the biggest risks to their strategies, as well as how their funds may fit in investors' portfolios. By attending this interactive event, you will get the chance to network with peers, quiz our expert speaker...

Bitcoin, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, is reaching new heights as its price is soaring at $91,000. With the current growth, the cryptocurrency is expected to reach the target of $1 million by the end of this year. President Donald Trump’s policies have brought a new revolution in the market, turning tables for crypto. It will be interesting to watch the future growth bar of Bitcoin as Trump will soon host the first crypto summit in his second term.

Trump has doubled down on the on the tariff war that he's unleashed, pledging to impose similar levies on India and others from April 2. These reciprocal tariffs are in response to, according to him, high import taxes on American goods.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. You don't really need a finance degree to excel in the stock market—ask Sapna Shaligram. The 58-year-old chemistry teacher turned psychological counsellor is a self-taught investor who has been tracking stock markets since the early 90s.

Automobile retail sales across categories, including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, witnessed a drop of 7 per cent in February amid declining demand, dealers' body FADA said on Thursday. Overall retail sales in the domestic market stood at 18,99,196 units last month, registering a dip of 7 per cent compared to 20,46,328 units in the year-ago period. «February witnessed a broad-based downturn across all categories,» Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) President C S Vigneshwar said in a statement. During the month, dealers began expressing concerns about inventory being pushed to them without their consent, he added.

Donald Trump’s threatened reciprocal levies that could upend bilateral and global trade. “Our relations with the US are probably the best they have been,” India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Wednesday at Chatham House — a London-based independent policy institute. India’s trade minister is holding conversations with his US counterparts, the minister said. Trump told a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday that many nations, including India, set tariff rates too high and reiterated they will be hit by reciprocal levies that take effect from April 2.

DCB Bank has once again cut its fixed deposit (FD) interest rates for deposits less than Rs 3 crore, marking the second such reduction within a month. The bank has reduced up to 25 basis points on select tenures. The highest FD interest rate has been cut from 8.05% to 8%. The revised rates are applicable from March 5, 2025. In February, the bank reduced the interest rate on fixed deposits for select tenures by up to 65 basis points (bps) effective February 14, 2025.