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The key is not prediction, but preparation, Gupta told Mint in an interview. “That’s why you hold gold or silver allocations: not to time them, but because you can’t.”The biggest risk remains macro concerns, she said, adding that trade deals, both for India and globally, are critical.If they don’t materialise, the environment could turn inflationary, something already visible in early signs from the US,” she said. “If India’s trade deal isn’t concluded by March, conditions could get tougher.”Another key risk is a lack of earnings revival, Gupta pointed out.

Dear reader,Happy New Year!Last week, I wrote monthly derivatives expiry and calendar year-end could cap gains in the markets, which otherwise showed signs of optimism. Read that piece here. The Nifty managed to test new highs and is now in blue sky territory.

The authors are, respectively, head and senior fellow, Ashoka University Isaac Centre for Public Policy. Shubhangi Sahai contributed to the article. These are the authors’ personal views.Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint.

, meanwhile, are looking for novel ways to connect with customers in the country’s uber-competitive market. People are flocking to factory tours hosted by EV maker NIO, dairy manufacturer Mengniu, brewer Tsingtao and others.Xiaomi, a top phone maker that launched its first EV in 2024, began offering its public tours after receiving requests from customers.

From the Sensex delivering over 9% return in 2025 to industrial output rising to a two-year high, Indian exports getting zero-duty access to Australia, the US’s humanitarian aid commitment to the United Nations plunging to the lowest in over 25 years, and a sharp rise in bank fraud amount—here's a compilation of this week's news in numbers. The Indian stock market remained resilient in 2025 despite several external risks like US tariffs lingering throughout the year. The BSE Sensex gained 7,082 points in 2025, recording an increase of 9.1%.

Many investors look for dividend stocks to include their portfolios as dividends provide steady income and can contribute significantly to long-term returns. They also signal strong fundamentals and offer stability during market downturns.However, dividends should not be the sole focus when buying a stock.

tax hike on cigarettes.Globally, Indian equities lagged their East Asian peers, with the South Korean and Taiwanese markets outperforming sharply, posting weekly gains of about 4% and 3%, respectively. The divergence was driven largely by valuation-led sector rotation and strong rallies in technology and semiconductor stocks in those markets, where India has limited representation, said Robin Arya, founder of GoalFi, a Securities and Exchange Board of India-registered corporate research analysis firm.

₹93,929 crore. This surpassed NSE stock futures contracts' ADT of ₹72,515 crore, showed data from MCX and NSE.Interestingly, silver outshone gold at ₹41,370 crore ADT, contributing 44% to the overall MCX ADT, while gold at ₹32,426 crore accounted for 35% of the overall ADT.Even on a standalone basis, bullion futures ADT at ₹73,796 crore exceeded that of NSE stock futures turnover in December.A shortage in silver supply—expected at 800 million ounces against the demand of an estimated 1-1.2 billion ounces in 2026—and haven demand for gold amid US tariff-induced global economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions drove the active MCX gold and silver futures' average price up 47% each year-on-year in the fiscal year through December (April-December, FY26).The average price of gold active futures jumped to ₹1.08 lakh per 10 gramme while that of silver active futures surged to ₹1.29 lakh per kilogramme, according to Bloomberg.

planning to soften its stance on e-commerce rules for exports, as it considers allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in inventory-based e-commerce models, but only for export purposes. India has about 165,000 post offices, including over 149,000 in rural areas and around 15,000 in urban centres.Currently, India’s FDI rules do not allow foreign-funded e-commerce companies to operate an inventory-based model, under which they own the goods sold on their platforms.

ITC will have to increase product prices, which won’t go down well with consumers, so investors can expect the company’s cigarette volumes to drop in FY27. Moreover, higher taxes on cigarettes could boost sales of illicit cigarettes and, as a result, dent ITC’s volumes.Unsurprisingly, analysts have cut their earnings estimates for FY27, and some have also downgraded their rating on the stock.

Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

Dear reader, as 2025, a year of global tumult and volatility, rolls by, Mint's reporters and columnists look around the corner on what is coming in 2026—to help you know what to expect and prepare for it. Tell us what you think at [email protected] Centre is shaping a wider and more deliberate standards strategy for 2026, moving to realign Quality Control Orders (QCOs) with actual testing and laboratory capacity while easing friction with key trading partners.

Two stock recommendations by MarketSmith India:Buy: Fedbank Financial Services Ltd(current price: ₹154.5) Buy: Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (current price: ₹1047)Nifty 50 RecapIndian equities ended the first trading session of 2026 on a subdued note, with benchmark indices consolidating after recent gains.Nifty 50 closed marginally higher at 26,146.55, up 0.07%, after oscillating within a narrow intraday range, while Sensex also finished largely flat, reflecting a lack of strong directional cues.Market breadth was mildly positive, with 1,683 stocks advancing against 1,448 declines, indicating selective buying interest beneath the surface. On the sectoral front, Auto, IT, Metals, and Realty stocks outperformed, supported by bargain hunting and expectations of steady demand..

Stock market recap: Indian equities ended mixed on the first trading day of 2026, as stock-specific moves and a lack of fresh triggers kept sentiment subdued. The Sensex slipped marginally, while the Nifty 50 closed slightly higher.

Over 80% of global trade by volume and more than 70% by value moves by sea and is handled at ports, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD’s) Review of Maritime Transport. In India, about 95% of trade by volume and 68% by value is carried by maritime transport.

passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act in July 2025, US lawmakers added to the sense that crypto is here to stay. But look beyond the hype and an uncomfortable issue remains unresolved: Are cryptocurrencies a genuine innovation capable of serving the common good, or a speculative threat to financial and social stability?Of course, not all cryptocurrencies are alike.

Venezuela, the brutal civil war in Sudan, and the continuous instability in the Middle East, to the war in Ukraine and the growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait. All these crises have global implications.In the face of these myriad emergencies, it is no surprise that the West, broadly understood, is contending with its greatest challenge in decades. At the root of this challenge lies a sense of civilizational exhaustion, of which our adversaries have taken notice, confident that their time has come.But has it? More than 1,350 days have passed since Russia launched its three-day “special military operation”—its illegal and unprovoked war of aggression—against Ukraine.

₹12 trillion in FY27, according to two people aware of the matter. The move signals that public investment will continue to play a central role in supporting growth as private capex remains uneven and global uncertainty persists.The proposal reflects the government's continued reliance on infrastructure spending to support domestic demand amid geopolitical risks, trade uncertainty and volatile financial conditions that have kept private investors cautious.The planned increase assumes the government will close the current financial year without fiscal slippage despite sharp cuts in goods and services tax (GST) and income tax rates, aided by savings on the revenue account and improved fund utilization by implementing agencies, one of the people cited above said.In FY26, the Centre allocated ₹11.21 trillion for capital expenditure, marking a 10% jump over the previous year’s revised estimates, along with an additional ₹3.9 trillion as grants to states for their own capital spending.

US Federal Reserve fueled this cycle by keeping its policy rate “low for long” after the 2008 global financial crisis. For too many, “long” was interpreted as “forever.” They simply took it for granted that US growth would be consistently higher than the real interest rate on government debt, which itself would remain exceptionally low by historical standards.