The India-U.S. trade deal offers breathing room for a currency that’s been on the ropes. But can improved sentiment overcome the structural headwinds that have plagued the rupee for over a year? The Indian rupee rebounded to around 90.5 per dollar on Monday, pulling back from 92 touched just lastContinue Reading

Budget panic, Trump euphoria, and what long-term investors should ignore  Forty-eight hours can change sentiment, and how. On Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered her ninth consecutive budget, and markets responded by wiping out Rs 10 lakh crore in investor wealth—the worst Budget-day showing in six years. By Monday night,Continue Reading

While Nirmala Sitharaman talks about “Yuva Shakti” and transforming “aspiration into achievement,” her tax proposals tell a different story for India’s burgeoning investor class. The STT Shock The biggest blow lands on derivatives traders. STT on futures jumps 150% from 0.02% to 0.05%. Options traders get hit harder—premium tax risesContinue Reading

Multi-asset funds with precious metal allocations crushed pure equity strategies as small-caps lost money and mid-caps barely registered gains Fund houses love to tout their range. Walk into any distributor’s office and you’ll get the full buffet: small-cap for aggressive growth, large-cap for stability, flexi-cap for flexibility, value for theContinue Reading

The great Indian equity story is sobering, or so it seems and retail investors may be caught in the crossfire. A new analysis from Kotak Institutional Equities reveals that investors who started systematic investment plans (SIPs) in Indian equities after calendar year 2023 are now staring at modest returns. TheContinue Reading