Even as foreign institutional investors (FII) continue to sell Indian equities, the stock markets are holding strong due to significant buying from domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and retail investors.

The secondary market outflows by FIIs in 2025 saw the highest level of foreign selling in India's markets to date. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have pumped in over Rs 4 lakh crore into the Indian stock market this year, the largest inflow by this category in the cash market during the first seven months since 2007.

In just seven months of 2025, DIIs accounted for over 80 per cent of total inflows for 2024, providing essential support to the market. DII inflows YTD in 2025 reached 2.2 per cent of the average Nifty market capitalisation, marking the highest level since 2007.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that bank cheques must be cleared within a few hours from October 4 -- down from the current clearance time of up to two working days.

Under the new mechanism, the banks will scan, present and pass cheques within a few hours and on a continuous basis during the business hours, cutting the clearing cycle down from the present T+1 days, a circular from central bank said.

The current Cheque Truncation System (CTS) processes cheques within a clearing cycle of up to two working days.

Easing inflation and favourable monsoon boosted rural demand in India in the April-June period this year, outpacing urban consumption once again, according to a new report.

According to the report by global research firm NielsenIQ, rural markets and small manufacturers propelled the packaged consumer goods sector in Q2 2025.

Rural markets grew twice as fast as cities, as urban areas showed signs of recovery, particularly in smaller towns.

According to the report, e-commerce also rose significantly, led by increased shopper penetration and spending, especially in home and personal care.

Home and personal care (HPC) volume growth continues to grow faster than food categories and small players are expanding faster than FMCG consumption

The Indian benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday, as IT and pharma stocks showed considerable gains.

The BSE Sensex advanced 0.15 per cent to 80,657 points. The Nifty 50 inched up to 24,638, up 21 points or 0.08 per cent.

Among the broader market indices BSE SmallCap added 0.12 per cent and the BSE MidCap climbed 0.30 per cent.

Sectorally, Nifty Metal lost 1.05 per cent while Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma surged 0.76 per cent and 0.93 per cent, respectively. The majority of other indices were mixed.

In the Nifty pack, Infosys led the gainers, surging 1.29 per cent, followed by HDFC Life, Wipro, Adani Ports, and Apollo Hospitals. Among laggards, Tata Steel declined 1.22 per cent, followed by ONGC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hindalco.

Almost 43 per cent of pre-IPO investors in the past five years generated a positive alpha from new-age companies, a report said on Wednesday.

Alpha is a measure of an investment's performance that indicates its ability to generate returns in excess of its benchmark.

Analysis of 25 new-age companies revealed 9 out of 21 companies yielded positive alpha for such investors. Almost 36 per cent of IPO investors and 32 per cent of post-IPO investors generated a positive alpha over the past five years, a report from wealth management firm Client Associates (CA) said.

Corporates in India are hopeful that India and the US would find a way to a negotiated settlement in tariffs, a report said on Wednesday.

The managements that is affected by the US administration's decision expect the final tariff outcome for US imports from India to settle at a lower rate, key industry leaders said at an event hosted by Emkay, a Financial Services provider.

According to corporate stakeholders, the 21-day off-ramp window should yield a negotiated settlement between India and the US, as for companies most exposed to the US market, contingency plans that include relocating production to other geographies, though such moves would require time to execute.

The speakers reinforced the long-term India growth story.

Dixon Technologies outlined ambitions to climb the value chain and sustain growth momentum.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may implement a 25 basis point rate cut in the fourth quarter this year if moderate high-frequency data from June continues, a report said on Wednesday.

The high one-year-ahead growth and inflation forecasts from RBI have led some market participants to believe RBI will be hesitant in further easing, but the central bank may lower its forecast and cut rates, according to the report from HSBC Global Investment Research.

"If high frequency activity indicators stay weak in the coming months, the RBI is likely to lower its growth forecast. A 25 bps repo rate cut is expected in Q4, bringing the repo rate to 5.25 per cent," the report said.

A Crisil report on Wednesday projected India’s headline inflation to average 3.5 per cent this fiscal (FY26) from 4.6 per cent in the last, as healthy agricultural production is expected to keep food inflation in check.

Kharif sowing is up a healthy 4.0 per cent on-year (As of August 8) and adequate soil moisture should benefit the rabi crop as well.

“Assuming geopolitical uncertainties remain under control, Brent crude oil prices are projected to remain subdued at $60-65 per barrel in the current fiscal, which should help contain non-food inflation,” said the report.

India’s retail inflation rate has more than halved over the past year, slipping even below the lower end of the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerance band (2 per cent). It slid to 1.6 per cent in July from 2.1 per cent in June. A year ago, it stood at 3.6 per cent.

As August inflation print likely to top 2 per cent and be closer to 2.3 per cent, a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October looks difficult, SBI Research said on Wednesday, adding that even a rate cut in December looks a tad difficult if growth numbers for Q1 and Q2 are taken into consideration.

India’s CPI inflation moderated to 98-month low of 1.55 per cent in July, compared to 2.10 per cent in June and 3.60 per cent in July, 2024.

The July reading is marking the ninth consecutive month of decline and mainly due to decline in food inflation, which is also at 78-month low.

Food inflation declined by 75 bps in July, compared to June 2025. The food inflation in July, 2025 is the lowest at –1.76 per cent, after January 2019, when it was at –2.24 per cent.

The Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Wednesday, after the US inflation data raised expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut.

The BSE Sensex advanced 0.22 per cent or 179 points to 80,414 points. The Nifty 50 inched up to 24,557 advancing 70 points, or 0.29 per cent.

Broader market indices outperformed the benchmark indices, with the BSE SmallCap adding 0.65 per cent and the BSE MidCap climbing 0.64 per cent.

Sectorally, Nifty Metal surged 1.57 per cent and Nifty Realty surged 0.76 per cent. The majority of other indices were mixed, showing modest gains and losses in the range of 0.10 to 0.40 per cent.

The Indian stock market settled slightly up on Thursday after witnessing a highly volatile session, sidelining the US President Donald Trump's fresh tariff jitters.

However, stocks from textiles, jewellery and auto ancillaries sectors, which have export exposures to the US, remained under pressure, but a rebound in banking, FMCG and IT stocks turned the market positive in the late session.

Sensex settled at 80,623.26, up 79.27 points or 0.10 per cent. The 30-share index started the session in negative territory at 80,262.98 against the last day's closing of 80,543.99, experiencing pressure following Trump's additional tariff announcement. However, the index recovered from the losses to touch an intra-day high of 80,737.55 amid buying in IT, Banking's and other heavyweight stocks in afternoon trade.

Billionaire investor Mark Mobius said on Thursday that upcoming 50 per cent tariffs on India, imposed by US President Donald Trump, will have less impact on the country as it has a massive domestic market to cushion itself, and does not fully depend on exports like China.

The global investor who runs the Mobius EM Opportunities Fund for emerging markets (EMs), said India is in a good position to navigate these tariffs than other nations.

“India has a huge domestic market and does not depend on exports like China. Also, Indian software exports are great and escape tariffs,” he noted.

“Conclusion: no big problem for India,” Mobius told.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) withdrew the highest amount of money from the IT sector in India during the month of July, worth $2.3 billion, said a report on Thursday.

In July, FIIs were net sellers to the tune of $2.9 billion, while DIIs were net buyers to the tune of $7.1 billion in the Indian equity market, according to report from JM Financial Institutional Securities.

FII outflows were highest in IT at $2.3 billion, followed by BSFI sector at $671 million. Realty ($450 million), auto ($412 million), oil and gas ($372 million), and durables ($302 million) also witnessed significant outflows.

The sixth round of India-US negotiations to reach an interim trade deal, currently slated for August 25, will be important as US President Donald Trump announced an additional 25 per cent tariffs on India, raising the total tariffs to 50 per cent effective from August 27, a Morgan Stanley report said on Thursday.

The report stated that it will “closely monitor export growth and domestic demand data for spillover impact, along with any incremental policy response”.

In FY25, India's total exports to the US stood at $86.5 billion (2.2 per cent of GDP). The original 25 per cent tariff and the additional penalty are both applicable on 67 per cent of India's exports to the US, which translates to $58 billion (1.5 per cent of GDP) (the remaining are sectors under section 232).

To assess the impact of tariffs on India's GDP, we use inferences from the input-output table modelled by our global team.

Domestic benchmark indices fell marginally on Thursday, weighed down by weakness in automobile, metal, and oil stocks. The latest threat of 50 per cent US tariffs on select Indian goods impacted the market amid mixed global cues.

Sensex declined 185 points, or 0.23 per cent to 80,358 while Nifty dipped 54 points or 0.22 per cent to 24,519.

In the Nifty pack, Hero MotoCorp led the gainers’ list, rising 1.27 per cent. followed by Cipla, Trent, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Bank. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Jio Financial, and State Bank of India were the major losers.

There are more than 1,700 global capabilities centres (GCCs) currently operating in India, employing more than 19 lakh people, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

The total revenue generated by these GCCs in last 5 years has grown from $40.4 billion in FY19 to $64.6 billion in FY24 with CAGR of 9.8 per cent, Jitin Prasada, Minister of State of Electronics and Information technology, said in a written reply in Lok Sabha, citing National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) data.

GCCs have grown from being support centres for basic tasks to research and development and design hubs, the minister said. Together, these GCCs employ more than 19 lakh people in the country.

Shares of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) debuted on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday at Rs 880, reflecting a 10 per cent premium, or Rs 80 above the issue price of Rs 800 per share. NSDL's IPO share listing fell short of expectations in the grey market, which had anticipated that the scrips would be listed at a premium of around 16 per cent.

Shortly after listing, the stock reached an intraday high of Rs 920. As of 11.45 A.M., NSDL shares were trading at Rs 913.65, up 33 points or 3.82 per cent from its listing price.

The Rs 4,012 crore IPO saw strong participation from all investor categories. The overall issue was subscribed 41.02 times. Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) led the subscription, oversubscribing 103.97 times, followed by Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) at 34.98 times and retail investors at 7.76 times.

Following the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision on Wednesday to maintain the repo rate at 5.50 per cent, the benchmark index Nifty 50 experienced a slight decline, falling below the 24,600 resistance level.

The Nifty 50 was trading at 24,569 as of 10.54 am, after an intraday decline of 0.33 per cent, while the Sensex stood at 80,473, down 0.29 per cent. Prior to the Monetary Policy Committee's decision, Nifty and Sensex were down 0.08 per cent and 0.07 per cent, respectively.

Apart from the monetary policy decision, the overarching influence on the market will be US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, according to experts.

The RBI on Wednesday retained its forecast for India’s GDP growth at 6.5 per cent for FY 2025-26, despite global uncertainties, as it expects strong rural demand on the back of a good monsoon and robust government expenditure on big ticket infrastructure projects to propel growth.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said, “The above normal southwest monsoon, lower inflation, rising capacity utilization and congenial financial conditions continue to support domestic economic activity. The supportive monetary, regulatory and fiscal policies including robust government capital expenditure should also boost demand. The services sector is expected to remain buoyant, with sustained growth in construction and trade in the coming months.”

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced on Wednesday that the monetary policy committee has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.5 per cent, while sticking to the “neutral” monetary policy stance.

He said the decision was taken unanimously by the MPC after a detailed assessment of the macroeconomic situation and the growth-inflation dynamics.

A neutral stance requires neither stimulation nor curbs on liquidity as it strikes a fine balance between controlling inflation without hurting growth.

The RBI Governor said that inflation had come down to much lower levels there was still some volatility in food prices, especially vegetables. However, core inflation had remained steady at around 4 per cent.

The Indian equity benchmarks opened flat on Wednesday, ahead of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee's decision. Sensex gained 64 points or 0.08 per cent at 80,774 while Nifty edged up 16 points or 0.07 per cent to 24,665.

Broad cap indices saw higher selling pressure. The Nifty midcap 100 index was down 0.54 per cent and Nifty smallcap 100 index slipped 0.64 per cent.

"Today’s monetary policy decision is unlikely to influence the market significantly. The overarching influence on the market will be US Donald Trump’s tantrums," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

India's mutual fund industry has shown robust participation in newly listed companies, with total investments amounting to over Rs 5,294 crore across recent initial public offerings (IPOs) in the April-June quarter, a report said on Tuesday.

A majority of these new entrants fall under the small-cap category, with only one categorised as a midcap, stock broking platform Ventura said in its report.

According to the report, in small-cap IPOs, mutual fund houses have invested Rs 1,351 crore in Ather Energy, Rs 679 crore in Schloss Bangalore, Rs 495 crore in Aegis Vopak Terminals, Rs 398 crore in Belris Industries, Rs 387 crore in Oswal Pumps, Rs 357 crore in Ellenbarrie Industrial Gases, Rs 241 crore in Kalpatru, and Rs 55 crore in Sambhv Steel Tubes during the quarter.

The government on Tuesday reiterated that there is no proposal to stop the supply of Rs 500 denomination banknotes, and ATMs will continue disbursing Rs 500 alongside Rs 100 and Rs 200.

Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, told the Rajya Sabha, in a written reply, that the printing of banknotes of a particular denomination is decided by the government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to maintain the desired denomination mix for facilitating the transactional demands of the public.

"The RBI has informed that as part of their endeavour to enhance public access to frequently used denominations of banknotes, a circular titled ‘Dispensation of Rs 100 and Rs 200 Denomination Banknotes through ATMs’ has been issued on April 28, 2025, directing all banks and White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs) to ensure that their ATMs dispense Rs 100 and Rs 200 denomination banknotes on a regular basis," the minister said.

India's battery energy storage systems (BESS) operating without fixed contracts – known as merchant BESS – turned profitable for the first time in 2024 and new battery projects commissioned in 2025 could deliver internal rates of return (IRR) of 17 per cent by operating in power exchanges, due to potential fall in upfront costs, a report said on Tuesday.

Falling battery costs and higher earnings from volatile power markets drove this shift, Ember, an energy think tank, said in its report.

According to the report, battery costs have declined by around 80 per cent over the past decade to Rs 1.7 million per megawatt-hour (MWh) in 2025 from Rs 7.9 million/MWh in 2015.

At the same time, potential revenues from market participation have increased fivefold in the same period to Rs 2.4 million/MWh in 2025 from INR 0.5 million/MWh in 2015.

Ongoing improvements in demand for the Indian services continued to support the growth of total new orders, international sales and output in the month of July, a report said on Tuesday.

At 60.5 in July, the seasonally adjusted Services PMI Business Activity Index was little-changed from 60.4 in June and, therefore, signalled another sharp increase in output, according to the HSBC India Services PMI for the month.

The rate of expansion was the best seen since August 2024, the report said.

The government has refuted media reports which raised concerns about the potential negative impact of 20 per cent ethanol blending (E20) in petrol, particularly with regard to older vehicles and customer experience.

“These concerns, however, are largely unfounded and not supported by scientific evidence or expert analysis,” the Petroleum Ministry said in a statement, adding that the narrative that ethanol blending in petrol is harming vehicles or causing undue hardship to consumers is “not based on real facts and lacks technical foundation”.

International studies on the effect of using Ethanol-Petrol Blends on Mechanical, Energy and Environmental Performance of Vehicles through testing of carbureted and fuel-injected vehicles every 10,000 km during their first 100,000 km showed statistically no significant differences in power and torque generated and fuel consumption.

The Indian equities witnessed a subdued opening session on Tuesday amid fresh threat from the US President Donald Trump to impose higher tariffs on India over Russian oil purchase.

Sensex declined 199 points or 0.25 per cent to 80,819. The Nifty slipped 44.05 points or 0.18 per cent to 24,678.70.

Nifty midcap 100 index was down 0.17 per cent and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 0.19 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty FMCG was the biggest loser down 0.55 per cent. The Nifty Bank fell 0.12 per cent and the Nifty IT index slipped 0.25 per cent.

“On the technical front, Nifty breaking above the high of 24,956 can reverse the short-term downtrend, but until then, bears have the upper hand,” said Vikram Kasat, Head - Advisory, PL Capital.

The Indian stock market ended the Monday session with a decent rally amid buying interest in metal, IT and construction sectors, despite ongoing concerns around US tariffs.

Sensex closed at 81,018.72, up 418.81 points or 0.52 per cent. The 30-share index started the session with a decent gap-up at 80,765.83 against the last day's closing of 80,599.91. The index extended the momentum further following buying in IT, Metal and auto stocks and touched an intraday high of 81,093.19.

Nifty ended the session at 24,722.75, up 157.40 points or 0.64 per cent.

Earlier in the morning, the domestic benchmark indices opened on a resilient note despite persistent global weakness.

India’s retail sector is entering a new era of integrated customer experience, Omnichannel 2.0, where retail is defined by real-time, seamless engagement across digital and physical worlds, a report said on Monday.

"Today’s consumers demand a unified, personalised journey across digital and physical touchpoints," market intelligence firm 1Lattice said in a report.

According to 1Lattice, over 450 million Indians use WhatsApp, with 60 per cent engaging with businesses weekly, making it a powerful channel for commerce and customer service.

Meanwhile, short-form video content is becoming the new front door to shopping, especially for Gen Z and Millennials who increasingly rely on influencer reviews for product discovery, the report stated.

The net direct tax collection saw strong growth in FY25 at Rs 22,26,375 crore, a 13.48 per cent year-on-year growth, as there has been an overall increase in collections after reduction of the corporate tax rates with effect from Assessment year (AY) 2020-21, the Parliament was informed on Monday.

Since FY 2021-22, the growth in net direct tax collection has been robust, Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The total revenue impact on account of tax benefits extended to companies was Rs 88,109.27 crore and Rs 98,999.57 crore (projected) in FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24, respectively.

"The above tax benefits have the impact of making the corporates competitive and encouraging investment and, therefore, economic growth," the minister said.

The total Assets Under Management (AUM) of the Indian Mutual Fund (MF) industry stand at Rs 74.40 lakh crore, marking more than a sevenfold growth over the past decade, a report said on Monday.

Of the total AUM, equity commands the largest share at 59.94 per cent, followed by debt at 26.53 per cent, hybrid at 8.28 per cent, and other categories accounting for 5.26 per cent, according to Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund.

According to the report, a key development in the industry has been the steady rise of passive investing, which now accounts for approximately 17 per cent of total AUM.

While active funds continue to dominate in absolute terms, the increasing share of passive strategies reflects broader adoption of low-cost, transparent, and benchmark-aligned approaches, the report stated.

The Indian rupee strengthened to 87.22 against the US dollar at open on Monday following a volatile week after continued FII selling and US President Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariff announcement on the country.

The Indian rupee opened higher as a result of the decline in the dollar index and rise in Asian currencies.

The local currency opened at 87.22 against the US dollar, up 32 paise from Friday's close of 87.54. The dollar index approached 100, causing the rupee to fall 100 paise, closing at 87.52 per dollar on August 1, down from 86.52 per dollar on July 25 and a low of 87.73 during the week.

Last week, rupee had fallen for the fourth consecutive week in a row as FIIs continued to sell Indian equities and oil prices rose. FIIs continued their selling spree for the fifth week in a row, and the total FII sales for July stood at Rs 47,666 crore.

The Indian stock market opened in the green on Monday, led by gains in auto and metal stocks, amid mixed global cues.

At 9.29 am, Sensex was up 221 points or 0.28 per cent at 80,821 and Nifty was up 82 points or 0.33 per cent at 24,647.

In the opening trading session, auto and metal were leading the market, advancing 0.93 per cent and 1.07 per cent respectively. The Nifty Bank edged up 0.13 per cent, to 55,688 points.

Midcap and smallcap stocks saw buying activity. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 0.44 per cent and Nifty smallcap 100 index advanced 0.39 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, except for Nifty IT, all other indices were in the green.

Indian bullion prices dipped marginally this week while the rupee slightly declined compared to the US dollar due to tariff concerns.

In the near future, gold is expected to remain volatile within the range of Rs 97,000 to Rs 98,500, analysts said.

The price of 24-carat gold (10 gram) started the week at Rs 98,446 on Monday, rose to Rs 99,017 on Wednesday, and ended the week at Rs 98,534, according to data published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA).

Headline inflation in India is expected to stay below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 4 per cent target over the next two quarters, supported by a favourable base effect and muted food prices, a new report said on Saturday.

The data compiled by CareEdge Ratings said the recent moderation in inflation has been largely driven by easing food prices, with CPI inflation falling to 2.1 per cent in June 2025 -- the lowest level since January 2019.

The report noted that while inflation is likely to remain low in the near term, it could start rising from the third quarter and cross the 4 per cent mark in the last quarter of the current financial year as the base effect fades.

For FY26, the agency expects CPI inflation to average around 3.1 per cent, which is lower than the RBI’s projection of 3.7 per cent.