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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A few years ago, on a boat ride in Hong Kong, Nimesh Chandan, CIO of Bajaj Finserv AMC, was battling motion sickness. A friend told him: focus on the horizon.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Most investors struggle with one question: what stock to buy. But what if investing wasn’t about finding the next multi-bagger, but about backing a pattern that repeats over time? Factor investing is built on this idea.Instead of chasing individual stocks, factor investing targets specific traits or investment styles, such as value (undervalued stocks), momentum (stocks that are in an uptrend), or quality (stocks of financially strong companies).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: The Indian equity markets witnessed healthy buying in almost all segments as investor sentiment was buoyed by ongoing US–China talks.The Sensex closed 790 points, or 1.06%, higher at 75,398.72, while the Nifty 50 ended at 23,689.60, up 277 points, or 1.18%.NAMINDIA (Cmp ₹1093) BERGEPAINT (Cmp ₹533.90) On 14 May 2026, investor sentiment was buoyed by ongoing US–China talks, with hopes that progress could ease global trade tensions. Oil prices edged higher amid persistent concerns over the Iran conflict, adding to volatility across sectors.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: Indian equity markets showed resilience on 14 May, with the Nifty 50 rising 1.18% to close at 23,689.60 despite early volatility. Market breadth remained positive, with 1,725 gainers outpacing 1,540 decliners.Sectoral performance was largely bullish.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India's gold imports from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the 2022 trade agreement are drawing fresh attention amid India's push to curb bullion imports to conserve foreign reserves.Gems and jewellery imports from the UAE, dominated by gold, have surged to one-third of India's total shipments in 2025-26, according to commerce ministry data reviewed by Mint.Even as India’s gems and jewellery imports hit a record $71.98 billion in 2025-26, imports from the UAE rose from $14.79 billion in 2022-23 to $27.09 billion in 2024-25, and stood at $24.08 billion during April-February 2025-26.Total gems and jewellery imports from the UAE stood at $15.93 billion in 2021-22, according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.At the same time, utilization of the tariff rate quota (TRQ), which allows a limited quantity of gold imports from the UAE at a duty rate one percentage point lower than the standard rate, has remained modest at about 140 tonnes in 2024-25 and just 8.58 tonnes so far in 2025-26.The trend has raised concerns that higher inflows under the concessional route could dilute the impact of 15% customs duty on gold and silver, as traders may increasingly route imports through the lower-duty quota, weakening efforts to curb imports and manage the trade deficit.It also assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to citizens to avoid buying gold for at least a year, urging them to invest in productive assets instead to help reduce the country’s import burden and strengthen the economy.“The trade agreement does offer some price advantage due to differential duty and would hence need to be monitored.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s largest information technology (IT) services companies including Infosys Ltd and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp are getting more work contracts based on fixed prices and outcomes as the use of AI-driven automation tools increases.This marks a shift from the traditional ‘time and material’ (T&M) billing model where IT services companies bill clients for the number of hours spent on work like coding, software development and maintenance. The change in pricing contracts follows the rise of automation tools that allow fewer people to handle IT projects.With fixed pricing, IT services companies and their clients determine prices for the work done regardless of the time spent or the outcome achieved.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: The Indian equity benchmarks snapped their four-day losing streak on Wednesday, closing marginally higher after a volatile session. The market saw strong buying interest in metals, oil-linked counters, and select heavyweight stocks, which helped offset persistent weakness in IT and auto shares.The Sensex edged up 49.74 points, or 0.07%, to finish at 74,608.98, while the Nifty advanced 33.05 points, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 23,412.60.NLCINDIA (Cmp ₹325.70)NLCINDIA: Buy above ₹328, stop ₹313 target ₹358 (Multiday)ROSSARI: Buy above ₹534, stop ₹503 target ₹589 (Multiday) GNFC (Cmp ₹489.95)GNFC: Buy above ₹492, stop ₹467 target ₹550 (Multiday)On May 13, Indian equity benchmarks halted their four-day losing streak, closing marginally higher after a volatile session.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: Indian equity markets ended Wednesday’s session on a resilient note, with late buying helping benchmarks overcome early volatility. The Nifty 50 closed at 23,412.60, up 33.05 points, or 0.14%.Still, broader sentiment remained cautious after the Indian rupee slid to a fresh record low of 95.80 against the US dollar, weighed down by elevated crude oil prices and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows.Market breadth remained firmly positive, with 1,962 stocks advancing against 1,303 declines, signalling broad-based buying interest beyond index heavyweights.Among sectors, Nifty Metal outperformed with a sharp 3.18% gain, followed by Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas, which rose 1.67% and 1.28%, respectively.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The Centre is considering a nationwide ban on crop-protection chemicals paraquat and carbosulfan after Telangana and Odisha imposed restrictions on their use, two people familiar with the matter told Mint.Paraquat is extensively used for weed control and conservation tillage, while carbosulfan is considered one of the few effective options against gall midge attacks in paddy-growing regions.However, as the kharif sowing season advances, the agrochemical industry has approached the Centre, contending that restricting the two widely used chemicals at the start of the cultivation season could disrupt weed and pest management practices and pose risks to the production of key cereal crops, particularly rice.It is lobbying for a scientific reassessment rather than an outright ban, warning that removing the two molecules could reduce farmers’ choices, increase cultivation costs, and aggravate pesticide resistance.The two chemicals have a market size of around ₹2,100 crore and are widely used in crops such as rice, cotton, fruits, and vegetables.“A meeting was recently held in the agriculture ministry, where the industry has urged the government not to rely on the decisions taken by the two states before arriving at any final decision,” said the first of the two people cited above.The ministry has taken a tough stand and sought additional details backed by scientific evidence. “Once the submissions are received, they will be reviewed and reassessed by the concerned government body before any final decision is taken,” this person added.“The ministry is also taking inputs from its scientists and collecting data related to the chemicals' health impact.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Berger Paints India Ltd’s shares soared over 6% on Wednesday as volume growth bounced back to double-digits at 11.8% for the three months ended March (Q4FY26) after a gap of six quarters. The decorative paints segment saw traction in premium emulsion paints and new launches of Kolor Plus and Kolor Plus Glow. Volume growth was driven by both secondary sales and pre-buying by dealers ahead of price hikes, the management said.Starting March, Berger has taken staggered price hikes of 11-12% to protect margins in the backdrop of rising cost inflation due to the West Asia war.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Despite the ongoing market volatility and geopolitical uncertainties, India remains firmly at the centre of global emerging market allocations, said Rahul Malhotra, region head of emerging markets and member of the global wealth management committee at Julius Baer Bank. Investors are likely “to start looking at India more actively again” by the end of the September quarter, he told Mint in an interview.Malhotra said investors remain positive on India, although many are currently in a wait-and-watch mode due to the geopolitical tensions, oil price risks, and broader macro developments.“Are we continuing to see interest in India? The short answer is yes,” he said.Malhotra added that while investors had become accustomed to 25-30% returns in recent years, such gains are not sustainable indefinitely and expectations will need to normalize over time.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Beneath the gloom gripping Indian equities, a quiet rally is reshaping parts of the market. Even as foreign investors pull money out, crude prices climb and benchmark indices struggle for direction, a narrow band of companies tied to infrastructure, industrials and commodities is emerging as a standout winner.A Mint analysis of 1,431 BSE-listed stocks with a market capitalization of more than ₹1,000 crore shows that while nearly 47% of companies remain in the red so far in 2026, 64 stocks—or nearly 5% of the universe—have posted outsized gains of more than 50%.Additionally, around 150 stocks gained between 25% and 50%, 245 rose by 10% to 25%, and another 294 recorded modest gains of up to 10%.Notably, one-third of these high-performers are concentrated within the capital goods, industrials, and commodity-linked sectors, prompting a closer look at their drivers.According to Gurmeet Singh Chawla, managing director at Master Portfolio Services, this sharp outperformance in a narrow set of stocks reflects a market that is rewarding earnings clarity over everything else.“Capital goods, industrials, and commodity-linked sectors have been the clearest winners due to the government’s sustained infrastructure push, a revival in private capex, and order inflows that give companies genuine multi-year revenue visibility,” he said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: The Indian equity markets faced a significant "Tuesday Tsunami," with Nifty 50 plunging 1.83% to settle at 23,379.55, while BSE Sensex crashed more than 1,450 points.This sharp correction was primarily fueled by escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, with President Trump’s remarks placing the U.S.-Iran ceasefire on “life support,” subsequently driving Brent crude prices toward $106 per barrel. Locally, the Indian Rupee hit a fresh lifetime low of 95.51 against the dollar, further dampening investor sentiment.The sell-off was broad-based, as reflected in a severely skewed advance-decline ratio, with 590 stocks advancing and 2,726 stocks declining.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s retail investors turned selective in the March quarter, funnelling money into a narrow set of large-cap banking, metals, energy and technology stocks even as broader market participation weakened amid persistent volatility.A Mint analysis of shareholding data for 4,489 BSE-listed companies showed that only about a quarter of listed firms witnessed a rise in retail investor participation during Q4FY26, while nearly 70% saw a decline in retail ownership.Among the biggest beneficiaries were private sector lender HDFC Bank Ltd and state-run miner Hindustan Copper Ltd, which together added nearly 1.1 million new retail investors between December and March quarters.Individuals holding nominal share capital up to ₹2 lakh are categorized as retail investors.“The rise in retail holdings in large-cap stocks such as HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Hindustan Copper reflects that retail investors have become more selective and defensive, with a clear preference for fundamentally strong companies offering stable earnings growth and healthy balance sheets,” said Naveen Vyas, senior vice president, Anand Rathi Global Finance.“This shift suggests a safety-first approach, as many retail investors have seen wealth erosion over the last 12-18 months through exposure to high-beta small-cap and micro-cap stocks.”HDFC Bank emerged as the biggest retail favourite during the quarter, adding 570,540 individual investors and taking its retail shareholder base to 4.1 million.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.At first, the legal battle between Nayara Energy Ltd—the Indian refiner backed by Russia’s Rosneft—and SAP India appeared to be a conventional contract dispute.However, it quickly raised larger questions around foreign sanctions, India’s technological dependence on multinational software providers, and whether global geopolitical developments could disrupt critical infrastructure operations within the country.After Justice Vikas Mahajan heard both parties, the court recorded its judgement on 30 April.Mint explains the case and why it matters.The dispute started in July 2025, when SAP India Pvt Ltd suspended all critical software support services including SAP ECC support (maintenance for its legacy core business suite), marketplace access, SSCR keys (developer credentials required to modify SAP source code), and expert services.SAP said this was done after the European Union imposed sanctions on Rosneft, the Russian oil refinery that has a 49.13% stake in Nayara.Nayara approached the Delhi High Court in September, saying the suspension blocked access to software critical for refinery operations and regulatory compliance. The company noted it was unable to implement GST 2.0 updates and argued that the disruption "poses a serious risk to India’s sovereignty and public interest", given that its refinery accounts for 8.5% of the nation’s energy production.Nayara argued that SAP was using the European Union trade curbs to not provide services to the energy firm despite its contractual obligations in India.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The promoters of Bengaluru-based Truffles Hospitality Pvt Ltd, known for its continental cuisine, premium burgers and desserts, are exploring options to raise capital from private equity firms and have engaged Spark Capital to find buyers for the asset, three people familiar with the matter said.“The deal has been in the market for quite sometime now and several PE firms have been tapped,” one of the people cited above said.The transaction could see Truffles’ promoters sell anywhere between a significant minority and a majority stake, depending on the incoming investor and deal structure, the second person said.“The deal will likely value the overall company at about 3-4x revenue multiple which translates to nearly ₹800 crore,” a third person said, confirming the above details.India’s $80-billion food services market is projected to grow at a 10–11% CAGR through 2030, driven by the rapid expansion of organised players. The rise of online food delivery and branded dine-in formats is accelerating this shift.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: The Indian stock market ended in the red for the third consecutive session on Monday, witnessing an across-the-board selloff amid weak global cues.The 30-share pack Sensex crashed 1,313 points, or 1.70%, to end at 76,015.28, while the NSE counterpart Nifty 50 plunged 1.50% to close the day at 23,815.85. The BSE 150 Midcap and 250 Smallcap indices declined 1.26% and 0.96%, respectively.JKLAKSHMI (Cmp ₹683.15)JKLAKSHMI: Buy above ₹688, stop ₹650 target ₹735 (Multiday) HINDUNILVR: Buy above ₹2310, stop ₹2250 target ₹2525 (Multiday) FORTIS (Cmp ₹974.15)FORTIS: Buy above ₹980, stop ₹935 target ₹1098 (Multiday)On 11 May 2026, Indian equities witnessed a sharp sell-off as surging crude oil prices and weak global cues rattled investor sentiment.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: Indian equity markets witnessed heavy selling pressure on Monday, 11 May, with the Nifty 50 falling 1.49% to close at 23,815.85, while the Sensex tumbled more than 1,300 points. Risk aversion intensified after the breakdown of US-Iran peace talks pushed Brent crude above $105 a barrel and dragged the rupee to a record closing low of 95.31 against the dollar.Investor sentiment was further weighed down by government calls for austerity, including restraint in fuel and gold consumption, stoking concerns over a potential slowdown in discretionary spending.Sectoral performance was broadly negative.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Fintech unicorn-turned-bank Slice is preparing to enter wealth management with an AI-powered “personal CFO” embedded in its banking app, according to twopeople familiar with the matter.The company has begun beta-testing the tool, which can track balances, flag idle funds, monitor maturing deposits, build savings prompts around user goals and warn users about potential cash crunches before they happen, the people said.Slice plans to eventually add investment offerings to the platform, though it could not be ascertained when those products would be launched.Many Indians still find investing intimidating because they are overwhelmed by product choices and are unaware of how to build their wealth and assess their risk appetite, the people said. The company believes the move could help it better understand customer behaviour and eventually sharpen the design and distribution of wealth products within the app, according to one of the people cited above.The move signals Slice’s aim to evolve beyond banking, payments and credit into full-stack financial distribution at a time when wealth-tech remains one of the few fintech segments continuing to attract investor interest.The company is pitching the tool as more than a generic chatbot for personal finance, the first person close to the project said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: For Mumbai-based tech professional Ketan Madhav, weekends are reserved for a subject he pursues with almost religious zeal—food. Every Saturday, he and his friends pick a newly opened restaurant and work their way through a smorgasbord of options, ranging from coastal Indian fare to exotic cuisines from faraway lands.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The Centre has amended rules to allow private, government-approved testing centres (GATCs) to inspect and certify petrol, diesel, and gaseous fuel dispensing machines, as it aims to reduce delays, ease compliance, and protect consumers, according to an official order reviewed by Mint.The calibration and verification certificate, which must be obtained every year, has become a massive exercise.