Wednesday, August 19
Mumbai: Shares of cigarette-to-consumer goods conglomerate ITC closed at a three-year low on Friday, extending losses to the second straight session after most brokerages downgraded it following the government's announcement of an additional excise duty on tobacco products effective February 1. The stock fell 3.8% to ₹350.1 on Friday, after plunging close to 10% on Thursday. Most brokerages downgraded the stock from bullish calls to cautious or bearish ratings after the excise duty hike, as the move is seen as increasing cigarette prices, which is feared to dampen demand. Nuvama, which downgraded ITC from 'buy' to 'hold', said, "While we expected a sharp tax hike on cigarettes, the magnitude seems higher than anticipated, likely prompting consensus downgrades to ITC's cigarette volume an
Mumbai: India's benchmark indices closed at record highs on Friday-the second trading session of the new year-tracking the upmoves in the rest of Asia. NSE's Nifty50 rose 182 points or 0.7% to close at 26,328.55. BSE's Sensex rose 573.4 points or 0.7% to end at 85,762. Both indices have notched up roughly 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively, of weekly gains-their best weekly performances in seven weeks. The equity gauges had last hit all-time highs in late November and early December, but the momentum failed to sustain as investors have been on edge in the face of a declining rupee and risk-off sentiment among foreigners. The indices have been stuck in a tight band in the past two months. "Usually, after a longer range-bound phase, the market tends to see sharp buying once momentum picks up, which
India's largest NBFC Bajaj Finance reported a 15% year-on-year jump in new loans booked in the December-ended quarter to 1.39 crore compared to 1.21 crore in the year ago period. The company's Assets under management (AUM) grew by 22% or Rs 23,600 crore to approximately Rs 4,85,900 crore in the quarter under review versus Rs 3,98,043 crore as of December 31, 2024.Bajaj Finance's customer franchise stood at 11.54 crore as of December 31, 2025 compared to 9.71 crore as of December 31, 2024. In Q3FY26, the customer franchise increased by 47.6 lakh.The deposits book stood at approximately Rs 71,000 crore as of December 31, 2025 as compared to Rs 68,797 crore as of December 31 2024.The numbers are provisional and the company declared them on Saturday as part of its Q3 update.The shares of Bajaj
Mumbai: The government has formally paved the way for 100% foreign ownership in insurance companies, but industry experts say the latest liberalisation is unlikely to trigger a rush of new foreign entrants setting up wholly-owned insurers in the country.The government has notified the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Amendment Rules, 2025, aligning foreign investment limits with the amended Insurance Act, which allows full foreign ownership in insurers. References to the earlier 74% cap have been removed, and foreign direct investment has been expanded to include investments by foreign venture capital investors under the non-debt instruments rules in the Foreign Exchange Management Act.Market participants, however, say structural realities will limit the immediate impact of
