Trade Financial News

Stock market recap: The Indian stock market ended lower on Friday, 26 December, as investors stayed in selling mode amid a lack of fresh triggers and mixed global cues. The Sensex fell 367 points, or 0.43%, to 85,041.45, while the Nifty 50 dropped 100 points, or 0.38%, to 26,042.30.

on the Nifty and the Bank Nifty by 120,022 contracts on Friday from 53,442 contracts on Wednesday, as per data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Markets were shut on Thursday for Christmas.FPIs increased their cumulative net short calls by 13,953 contracts from 2,422 contracts during this period, while retail and high-net-worth investors and domestic institutional investors were net buyers.Calls are generally sold when traders expect the markets to remain flat or correct.

Even in a tough year, the Nifty has delivered 7–8% returns, Systematic Investment Plan flows remain strong, and this phase has been more of a time correction than a price correction, said Sunil Singhania, founder of Abakkus Asset Manager. As economic recovery gains pace, he is more optimistic about 2026 and 2027.While some markets, such as South Korea, have posted 60–70% gains in 2025, these gains reflect a catch-up after years of flat returns and are driven by just a handful of tech and AI stocks, making them vulnerable if the AI trade cools.

Why it’s recommended: NALCO is exhibiting strong bullish momentum supported by high trend strength. The stock is trading firmly above short-term support zones and is part of the broader metals sector rally.

₹2,000-crore technology upgradation scheme for small businesses in the 2026-27 budget, aimed at boosting the adoption of energy-efficient machinery, two people aware of the development said.The technology upgradation scheme, proposed by the Union ministry of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME), and currently under discussion, will cover MSMEs with annual turnover of less than ₹50 crore, offering them a 20% capital subsidy for purchase of energy-efficient machinery, smart manufacturing, and automation upgrades, said the first of the two persons cited earlier, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.A micro enterprise has an annual turnover of up to ₹5 crore, a small enterprise up to ₹50 crore, and a medium enterprise up to ₹500 crore.The plan comes amid several countries introducing their own carbon taxes on imports from nations with weaker climate regulations. The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) comes into effect from 1 January.

Investor money has swung decisively towards flexi-cap funds in recent months. From May to November 2025, flexi-cap schemes accounted for 28.7% of total net inflows into diversified equity mutual fund categories.The timing of this surge is telling.

After a two-year run of stellar gains, US traders are signalling far more modest returns for gold and silver in 2026, possibly driven by lower central bank purchases, a stronger dollar, and moderating safe-haven demand, according to experts.Analysts and financial planners are warning domestic investors to brace for bouts of volatility next year, with corrections in silver likely to be sharper, even though expectations could shift with changes in global macro conditions—such as interest rate moves or rising economic uncertainty.Trader bets on Comex, the world's most diverse derivatives marketplace, show they expect the most liquid gold futures contractto rise 3.4% and silver 3% by December 2026 from Wednesday’s (24 December’s) closing of $4,503 and $71.68 per troy ounce (31.10 gm), respectively, per Bloomberg data.In 2025, Comex generic gold and silver futures rose 67.8% and 127%, respectively, from 1 January to 24 December, the data showed.Indian gold and silver prices tend to mirror international prices as most domestic demand for both metals is met through imports.Even as the Nifty 50 gave 12% returns in the current fiscal year (FY26) through 19 December, gold ETF (exchange-traded funds) prices surged 45% to ₹11,400 per gm while silver doubled to ₹200 per gm in the same period, based on the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) formula for ETFs using global benchmark London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) prices, excluding GST.In the previous fiscal, gold and silver ETFs gave 35% returns, while the Nifty returned just 5%.Sensing the warning signs, analysts and financial planners have called for caution, especially as Indian investors continue to diversify portfolios through gold and silver ETFs.Amol

From India and New Zealand wrapping up trade talks in record time to the Centre planning a higher outlay on rail safety, a drop in overseas education remittances, shifts in the rural job guarantee burden, and a record US court payout in the Johnson & Johnson talc case—here's a compilation of this week's news in numbers.The Centre is likely to announce an outlay of over ₹1.3 trillion in FY27 on rail safety in the Union budget, about 12% higher than the current fiscal’s amount of ₹1.2 trillion, Mint reported. Funds would be used for rolling stock maintenance, track renewals, and expanding Kavach—India’s automatic train protection system.This marks a shift in the government’s focus towards railway safety: the outlay was up only 2% in FY26.

honhar birwan ke hote chikne paat—suggests that the signs of future success are visible early. It sums up the early years of Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani—Dhirubhai—one of India’s greatest industrial empire builders, whose youth too shimmered with portents.Ambani passed away in July 2002, leaving behind a giant conglomerate whose market capitalization today exceeds $250 billion and a legacy that continues to shape Indian business.While the details of his professional life are household lore now, repeated across newspapers, magazines, and films, it’s his early life, vividly captured in Dhirubhai Ambani: The Man I Knew by Kokilaben, that provides fascinating clues to his career.

US-India trade deal have emerged as a key disappointment for investors, he added.Sectoral trends were mixed, with selective profit-taking visible across most segments. Metals emerged as the week’s standout performer, gaining 2.3%, aided by recent gains in copper and zinc, Vijayakumar said.

several new records in both nominal and inflation-adjusted terms. Silver has also soared, sweeping up legions of amateur investors, ranging from newly committed collectors to Reddit-inspired speculators trading in and out of exchange-traded funds that offer exposure to silver without having to store it.Silver futures have climbed 145% this year to around $71 a troy ounce, blowing through a 45-year record in October and only picking up steam from there.

The essential accoutrement for auto executives this year was a cap. As in, of the red baseball variety.

electric vehicles, and electronics pushing the market into a supply deficit for the fifth consecutive year in 2025. Silver is currently trading at about $72 per ounce (oz), almost double the average of $36.6 per oz in the half-year ended September (H1FY26), and 1.4 times the FY25 average of $30.4 per oz. The persistent demand-supply mismatch is expected to keep prices firm.The rally brightens HZL’s earnings outlook.

. Vasdev’s politics ranged far left, however, and his customers were unaware that while he fixed their timepieces, he also secretly financed Mau Mau insurgents who fought the British in a bloody conflict in the 1950s.He funded trade unionist Makhan Singh’s printing press, which churned out pro-independence leaflets. Makhan spent 11 years behind bars for his activism.

World Bank report in September on container port performance. "The port’s CPPI values were 66 (2020), 62 (2021), 35 (2022), 48 (2023), and 100 (2024).

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] has the milk but not the export muscle.That imbalance has defined its dairy sector for years: a country that is among the world’s largest milk producers, yet remains a marginal player in global dairy trade.

Best stocks to buy today (All Buy trades are rates of Equity & Sell rates are based on F&O)Gravita India Ltd: Buy above ₹1870, stop ₹1800 target ₹2030 (Multiday)Laurus Labs Ltd: Buy above ₹1088, stop ₹1072 target ₹1115 (Intraday)PNB Housing Finance Ltd: Buy above ₹970, stop ₹950 target ₹1030 (Intraday)On 24 December, the Sensex and the Nifty ended lower ahead of the Christmas holiday, weighed down by FII selling and profit-booking across key sectors. The benchmark indices slipped from their intraday highs, with the Sensex closing at 85,408.70, down 116.14 points (0.14%), while the Nifty settled at 26,142.10, losing 37.45 points (0.14%).

rare earth magnets, a key input for sectors ranging from defence and electronics to renewable energy and electric vehicles.Mint unpacks the committee's recommendations and India's ambitions for rare earth magnets.Critical mineral security assumes significance amid geopolitical uncertainties and trade wars as nations try to leverage their resources to disrupt supply chains.China’s export ban on rare earth magnets in April 2025, which disrupted manufacturing supply chains globally, resulted from an escalating trade war, with the world’s second-largest economy retaliating to steep US tariffs.Beijing used its dominance in the sector–60% of the world’s rare earth mining and 90% of the world’s processing capacity–as a tool to disrupt supply chains, pushing manufacturers across the globe into a frenzy.The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in its Sustainable Development Goals Pulse 2025 report in July this year, noted that minerals required for the energy transition – copper, zinc, germanium, tin, and nickel, among others – faced higher export restrictions compared to other traded critical minerals. “This trend reflects rising geopolitical sensitivities and growing domestic value chain ambitions in producing countries,” the report noted.The International Energy Agency narrowed and simplified this sentiment, focusing on how critical minerals are shaping the energy transition.

tax department is accurate in most cases and that the return should therefore be revised. This assumption, however, is flawed.The problem is not one of intent or aggressive enforcement.

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] global trading system is undergoing a profound transformation.

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] a year marked by punishing US tariffs, climate-linked disruptions, and global uncertainty, India may finally be approaching a payoff phase.