Indian equity benchmarks ended slightly higher on Friday, capping a volatile session, as investors remained cautious ahead of the looming deadline for fresh US tariffs under president Donald Trump’s trade proposals. The BSE Sensex closed 189 points higher at 83,438.11, up 0.23%, while the NSE Nifty 50 settled at 25,461.25, up 56 points or 0.22%. This market trepidation underscored broader geopolitical anxieties, as a potential US-Vietnam trade deal, involving reciprocal tariffs, stoked concern across Asia, particularly for India, which is simultaneously negotiating its own trade agreement with Washington. While India may relent on allowing certain farm products for animal feed, it remains firm on protecting its sensitive dairy and agricultural sectors. Moody's suggested India could benefit from relatively lower US tariffs, potentially boosting its manufacturing hub aspirations. Amidst these shifting global trade winds, India cleared US$12.3bn (billion) in defence purchases following a recent military confrontation.
India's fiscal deficit for the initial two months of FY25-26 dropped dramatically to Rs13,163 crore, representing merely 0.8% of the annual target of Rs15.69 lakh crore, marking a substantial improvement from the previous year's Rs50,600 crore deficit during the same period. This remarkable performance was driven primarily by a surge in total government receipts which climbed to Rs7.33 lakh crore compared to Rs5.73 lakh crore in the corresponding period last year. While gross tax collections grew moderately to Rs5.15 lakh crore from Rs4.60 lakh crore, the standout factor was the exceptional jump in non-tax revenue to Rs3.57 lakh crore from Rs2.52 lakh crore, largely attributed to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) record dividend transfer of Rs2.69 lakh crore to the government in May. This dividend payout, which is 27% higher than the previous year's Rs2.11 lakh crore transfer, has prompted economists to predict that the fiscal deficit could fall 20-30bps (basis points) below the government's 4.4% target for FY25-26.
Despite increased government expenditure rising to Rs7.46 lakh crore from Rs6.24 lakh crore, including a significant boost in capital expenditure (capex) to Rs2.21 lakh crore from Rs1.44 lakh crore, the strong revenue performance has created a favourable fiscal position. Subsidy spending on food, fertilisers and petroleum amounted to Rs51,252 crore, accounting for 13% of the revised annual allocation and showing controlled expenditure management compared to 14% in the previous year.
Domestically, India’s growth experienced a soft patch in June, with goods and services tax (GST) collections growing at their slowest pace in 50 months and car sales and electricity consumption contracting. This moderation, however, was viewed by economists as transitory, with a rebound anticipated, driven by a good monsoon, easing inflation and RBI’s accommodative monetary stance. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) forecasts India's economy to grow by 6.4%-6.7% in FY25-26, propelled by strong domestic demand, despite geopolitical uncertainties. The services sector, a key growth driver, saw its activity rise to a 10-month high in June, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) at 60.4, fuelled by robust domestic and global orders and sustained employment growth for the 37th consecutive month.
This domestic resilience was also evident in the steel sector, where strong local demand kept Indian companies in good stead amidst global flux, offsetting weak international demand and dumping from China. Industrial output growth, however, hit a nine-month low in May, dragged down by contractions in mining and electricity. Petrol sales, meanwhile, rose by 6.4% in June, with diesel up 1.2%, while the domestic gas price ceiling was capped at US$6.75/MMBtu (million British thermal units) for July, with expectations of a lower price next month.
Government policy continued to focus on stimulating the economy. Capex surged by 54% in April-May, contributing to a significant surplus liquidity in the banking system which reached a two-year high of Rs3.75 lakh crore. RBI responded by conducting Rs1 lakh crore variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auction to mop up this excess liquidity which was also influenced by the unspent RBI dividend and a previous cash reserve ratio (CRR) cut. In a concerted effort to boost employment and innovation, the Cabinet approved two schemes with a combined outlay of over Rs2 lakh crore: the employment-linked incentive (ELI) scheme, targeting over 35mn (million) formal jobs in manufacturing, and the research development and innovation (RDI) scheme, designed to attract private sector research & development (R&D) investment in sunrise sectors. Separately, the Indian Ports Association proposed repurposing existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure to establish green hydrogen export hubs, aligning with India's long-term energy goals.
In the financial sector, bank credit to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) grew at a faster clip of 14.1% in FY24-25, with asset quality improving. However, fresh loan spreads widened in May as banks sought to protect margins amidst rising costs of funds, impacting net interest margins. Unsecured retail loans saw their gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio at 1.8% by March 2025, but private banks reported higher slippages and household debt continued to rise, prompting fin-techs, which are finding more takers in tier-3 towns, to grapple with increasing defaults. The transmission of monetary policy was aided by a rising share of floating-rate loans. To ease the tax burden on asset sales, the central board of direct taxes (CBDT) raised the cost inflation index (CII) for FY25-26.
Digitalisation continued its rapid ascent. Aadhaar authentications logged 2.29bn transactions in June, including a record number of artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML)-based face authentications. The Bhim app received a significant boost from national payments corporation of India’s (NPCI's) scaled-up incentives, almost doubling its monthly transaction count. Meanwhile, four banks, led by Yes Bank with a 40% share, continued to dominate united payments interface (UPI) payments. Indian Railways, too, advanced its digital infrastructure, building an AI-based security and analytics platform, even as its Q1FY25-26 freight loading saw a modest 2% increase, with flat coal and cement volumes.
In corporate news, Yum! Brands moved to consolidate its Indian operations by facilitating a merger between its two largest franchisees, Devyani and Sapphire, aiming to create a pan-India quick service restaurant (QSR) powerhouse. Conversely, Cipla faced challenges as key patent expiries, particularly for Revlimid, clouded its earnings visibility, prompting a strategic focus on new launches and potential acquisitions. Despite a tepid start to the year, the initial public offering (IPO) market showed renewed vigour, with filings more than doubling in the first half of 2025, signalling a strong pipeline and investor optimism.
The trends of the major indices in the course of the week's trading are given in the table below:
News
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued an interim order against four entities under the Jane Street group for allegedly manipulating India’s index derivatives market, particularly the Bank Nifty index options segment. The regulator has restrained these entities from accessing or dealing in Indian securities markets until further notice and directed that illegal gains of Rs4,843 crore be escrowed with SEBI. We have covered it in detail
here.
L&T Energy Green Tech, a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, incorporated Panipat Green Hydrogen Private Limited (PGHPL) on 30 June 2025, subscribing to 100% of its equity with an initial investment of Rs1 lakh. PGHPL will serve as the project vehicle for developing a 10,000TPA (tonnes per annum) green hydrogen plant at IOCL’s Panipat refinery, under a build-own-operate (BOO) model. This follows L&T’s earlier win of IOCL’s green hydrogen tender, with hydrogen to be supplied at Rs397/kg over a 25-year term.
HCLTech entered a multi-year strategic partnership with OpenAI to accelerate enterprise-scale adoption of generative AI. As one of OpenAI’s first global strategic services partners, HCLTech will integrate OpenAI’s models—including ChatGPTEnterprise and APIs (application programing interface)—into its platforms like AI Force, AI Foundry, and industry-specific accelerator.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) will launch 5G services in 23 additional cities, expanding its coverage across priority circles in a phased approach. Vi's 4G network has also been enhanced, with population coverage increasing to 84%.
In May 2025, Jio and Bharti Airtel captured 99.8% of all new telecom subscribers, with Jio adding 2.7mn and Airtel adding 275,000 users. Jio led with a 50.72% market share and 494.4mn broadband users. Airtel followed with 30.99% share and 302mn users. Vi held 12.99%, but lost 274,000 wireless subscribers. BSNL and MTNL continued to decline, losing 135,000 and 470,000 users, respectively. Despite Vi adding a small number of wireline users, the overall trend shows private players consolidating dominance, while public and debt-laden operators face mounting pressure.
Gabriel India approved a composite scheme of arrangement involving Asia Investments (AIPL) and Anchemco India, aimed at transforming Gabriel into a diversified auto components player. The plan includes amalgamating Anchemco with AIPL, followed by demerging AIPL’s automotive business into Gabriel, bringing in products like brake fluids, coolants, DEF, adhesives and stakes in three joint ventures (JVs). Gabriel will issue 1,158 shares of Rs1 each for every 1,000 shares of Rs10 held in AIPL, with completion expected in 10–12 months.
Veefin Solutions announced that State Bank of India (SBI) has joined PSBXchange, the world’s largest unified supply chain finance (SCF) platform, developed in partnership with PSB Alliance. This move strengthens SBI’s digital credit delivery capabilities and expands access to structured SCF for MSMEs across India.
Tilaknagar Industries retained its leadership in the brandy segment, with Mansion House brandy continuing as India’s top-selling brandy and ranking second globally in 2024. Its other brand, Courrier Napoleon brandy, recorded sales of 2mn cases, making it the third fastest-growing brandy worldwide
NTPC commissioned 97.5MW (megawatt) solar in Gujarat, taking group capacity to around 82,586MW. Year-to-date (YTD) FY25-26 renewables addition stands at around 1,026MW, tracking well against its 7,226MW annual target.
Tata Steel commissioned of India’s largest blast furnace at Kalinganagar, expanding site capacity from 3MTPA (metric tonnes per annum) to 8MTPA, and a new electric arc furnace (EAF) in Ludhiana, as part of its broader goal to reach 40MTPA by 2030. It has also commissioned a 2.2MTPA cold rolling mill (CRM) complex and is actively pursuing brownfield expansions across key sites. In Europe, Tata Steel is transitioning to green steel with a £1.25bn investment in an EAF at Port Talbot (UK), backed by £500mn in government support, aiming to cut CO emissions by 5mn tonnes annually. In the Netherlands, it plans to replace legacy assets with a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant and EAF, targeting 5mn tonnes CO reduction per year by 2030, supported by policy and infrastructure aid.
Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of virgin multi-layer paperboard from Indonesia, following a complaint by the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA). The probe aims to assess whether dumped imports are causing material injury to domestic producers, particularly in packaging segments like fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), pharmaceuticals and publishing. DGTR has also initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of bromo-otbn (4-bromomethyl-2'-cyanobiphenyl) from China, following a complaint by Neogen Chemicals (-1.90%). The compound is a key intermediate in drugs for hypertension and heart failure and the probe aims to assess whether imports at unfairly low prices are causing material injury to domestic manufacturers. DGTR has also initiated mid-term reviews of existing anti-dumping duties on jute imports from Bangladesh and Nepal, following complaints from domestic producers including Gloster and Ludlow Jute & Specialities. The reviews aim to assess whether falling import prices are causing renewed injury to Indian jute manufacturers and whether current duties remain adequate to protect the local industry.
Asian Paints is under investigation by the competition commission of India (CCI) following a complaint from Grasim Industries (Birla Opus Paints). The probe centres on alleged abuse of dominant position, including coercive dealer practices, denial of market access, and input foreclosure. CCI found prima facie evidence of anti-competitive conduct and has directed its director general to submit a report within 90 days.
L&T Technology Services (LTTS) was selected by TRATON group—which includes brands like Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Truck & Bus—as a strategic engineering partner for a multi-year global R&D transformation initiative. The collaboration will focus on building a unified product development platform, advancing electrification, software-defined vehicle architectures, ADAS, and digital engineering tool-chains across TRATON’s global hubs in Europe, US and India.
ICICI Lombard received relief from the Bombay High Cour, which has set aside a GST demand order of Rs1,728.86 crore, along with Rs172.88 crore in penalties. The Court directed a fresh hearing by the adjudicating authority and the company has stated that there is no immediate financial impact from this development.
Bharat Forge, through its subsidiary Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd (KSSL), incorporated Agneyastra Energetics to enter the defence energetics domain. The new entity will focus on manufacturing high-energy explosives, gun and rocket propellants and ammunition filling for medium and heavy calibre.
MobiKwik group achieved two key regulatory milestones this quarter. Its subsidiary MobiKwik Securities Broking Pvt Ltd (MSBPL) received SEBI approval on 1 July 2025, to operate as a stock broker and clearing member, enabling equity trading and settlement operations. Separately, Zaakpay, another group entity, secured RBI authorisation in April 2025 to function as an online payment aggregator, expanding MobiKwik’s footprint in digital payments.
Godrej Industries will undertake Rs750 crore investment to expand its chemicals business, targeting US$1bn in revenue by 2030. The expansion includes doubling capacity for fatty alcohols (+35,000TPA) and Glycerine (+24,000TPA), tripling capacity for speciality chemicals (+21,000TPA) and fermentation (+1,500TPA), increasing primary surfactants capacity by 30,000TPA and boosting renewable energy usage to 75% via hybrid power upgrades.
Orders
NBCC (India) secured Rs65.73 crore in fresh work orders which includes Rs43.90 crore project management consultancy (PMC) for construction and external development at the Energy Institute (Bengaluru), under the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Rs6.42 crore for construction of a regional office building for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti in Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and Rs15.41 crore for development of central covered courtyards across various Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in Odisha.
CE Info Systems (MapmyIndia) secured Rs233 crore contract spanning seven years, reinforcing its long-term revenue visibility. Zydus Wellness (-0.30%) received shareholder approval to voluntarily liquidate its wholly-owned subsidiary, Naturell (India) (NIPL).
NCC secured Rs1,690 crore in June orders via its building division, lifting its order book to Rs62,471 crore (3.3x book-to-bill). It expects around 10% revenue growth in FY25-26, backed by Rs22,000 crore–Rs25,000 crore inflow pipeline.
Nectar Lifesciences received relief from the central GST (CGST) commissioner, Ludhiana, with Rs16.62 crore of input tax credit (ITC) being unblocked. The company will withdraw its writ petition on the condition that the ITC remains accessible and is not re-blocked by tax authorities.
Hind Rectifiers secured Rs284 crore worth of orders in June 2025, including two major contracts from Indian Railways. As of 1st July, its order-book stands at a record Rs1,025 crore, reflecting strong momentum in railway and industrial electronics segments.
Kalpataru Projects bagged Rs989 crore in overseas transmission & distribution (T&D) orders, pushing FY25-26 order inflows to Rs7,150 crore. It targets Rs28,000 crore–Rs30,000 crore for the year, ensuring strong revenue visibility.
Innovators Facade Systems bagged Rs61.11 crore order from Larsen & Toubro (buildings & factories division) for facade works at Central Secretariat (building-6 and building-7) on Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi. The scope includes design, fabrication, supply, installation, and commissioning, with project completion targeted by October 2026.
Keystone Realtors was selected by eight housing societies in Andheri (west) (Lokhandwala) for a cluster redevelopment project with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of Rs3,000 crore. The project spans 4.75 acres, covering 548 existing members, and is expected to unlock around 1.06mnsqft (million square feet) of saleable area.
Investment/ Acquisition / Stake Stale
Reliance Retail Ventures made a strategic minority investment in UK-based FACEGYM, a pioneer in facial fitness and skincare. The partnership will bring FACEGYM’s non-invasive facial workout concept to India through standalone studios and curated spaces within Tira stores, with expansion planned over the next five years.
Lloyds Metals & Energy acquired a 79.82% stake in Thriveni Earthmovers and Infra Pvt Ltd (TEIL) by subscribing to 70 crore equity shares for a total consideration of Rs70 crore.
Bharat Forgec ompleted its acquisition of AAM India Manufacturing for an equity value ofRs746.46 crore which includes Rs189.48 crore in cash reserves.
Top gainers and losers of the major indices for the week are given in the table below:
