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Mumbai: India's equity benchmark indices ended lower in a late sell-off on Monday, giving up all of early gains, as traders cut their bullish bets, taking cues from the drop in US futures at open."Monday's market decline was largely influenced by global cues, with Dow futures dropping more than 200 points. In line with this, domestic markets also experienced a downturn," said Dharmesh Shah, head of technical research at ICICI Direct. "Profit-taking was observed around the 20-day moving average (DMA) at the 22,600 level and a close above this level could take the Nifty towards the 23,000 mark."NSE's Nifty fell 92.2 points, or 0.4%, to close at 22,460. It made an intraday high of 22,676. BSE's Sensex declined 217 points or 0.3% to end at 74,115. Both the indices fell nearly 1% from the day's high. All sectoral indices on the NSE ended lower on Monday except for the Nifty FMCG index. Foreign portfolio investors remained net sellers of equities worth ₹485 crore on Monday but their selling was lower than what has been in recent weeks. Domestic institutions were buyers to the tune of ₹264 crore.Shah said that the 22,100 level is a strong support for the index and as long as the Nifty holds above this level, he anticipates a pullback in the index.Nifty Midcap 150 dropped 1.4% and Nifty Smallcap 250 fell 1.9% on Monday.

Mumbai: The Indian rupee fell sharply Monday, sticking to the recent script of wild swings in either direction, ending the trading day nearly half a percentage point lower on dollar demand from oil companies, dealers said. Maturities in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market also pressured the currency that has been buffeted by foreign fund sales of local equities since late September.At 87.33/$1, the rupee's decline was worth nearly 50 paisa, compared with 86.87 per dollar at the end of trading the previous day.The rupee had opened at 87.22 per dollar, and other Asian currencies also weakened even as the dollar index was 103.7, LSEG data showed. Asian currencies were pressured due to weak economic data from China, traders said."The rupee weakened because of an increase in dollar demand from oil companies, as Indian companies have started buying oil from the US," a trader at a private bank said.118865211India committed to procure more oil and natural gas from the US when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump in February. Subsequently, the US exported about 3,57,000 barrels per day of crude to India in February, compared with exports of about 2,21,000 barrels per day last year, Reuters said."After a stronger close on Friday, the rupee slipped to 87.20/$1 levels in the NDF market. After that slip, there was some short covering done because of which the rupee opened weaker," said Anil Bhansali, head of treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.

Incentives and discounts are returning slowly to the housing industry after a period of robust growth due to fewer launches, delayed approvals, and steep price appreciations across major cities over the last few years. Developers, which previously experienced strong demand following the pandemic, are now reintroducing incentives to attract buyers. Offers such as "1% payment now," fully furnished homes, modular kitchen and even free parking spaces have resurfaced, indicating a shift in market dynamics. However, cash discounts are still limited.In the newspapers, one can find offers such as Godrej Properties offering a 1% monthly payment plan, while M3M Developers has a 'move-in now, pay later' plan that allows buyers to pay 20% after two years. PARAS Buildtech has promised a 50% per annum return with its buyback scheme, and Shriram Properties offers 'zero extras' with savings of up to ₹25 lakh. To stimulate housing sales, property developers are enhancing incentives for homebuyers, particularly in the 3BHK and above apartment sizes segments, where sales have remained sluggish.118857897This trend is particularly noticeable during festive seasons, as developers seek to appeal to cost-sensitive buyers with more enticing deals."While the real estate sector remains strong overall, multiple factors-including rising consumer spending on other discretionary items, land acquisition challenges, regulatory delays, and fewer new launches along with stock market fall-are contributing to this slowdown," said Bhavesh Kothari, founder and CEO, Property First. According to industry experts, during the post-Covid boom, developers had little need to offer discounts or schemes as demand surged due to increased savings, low home loan rates, and changing buyer preferences.However, Q3FY25 results from listed realty firms indicate a dip in absorption levels, signalling that affordability and sentiment are playing a crucial role in the market's current phase."To counter this slowdown, developers have begun reintroducing offers that were last seen in the sluggish pre-pandemic market. This shift points to a phase where developers must actively boost demand rather than rely on organic sales momentum," said Vineet Surana, MD, APS Property Solution. Residential real estate has witnessed high demand particularly strong in the mid-to-premium and luxury segments. However, with inflationary pressures and interest rates remaining elevated, the affordability of high-ticket homes is being reassessed by potential buyers."There is a demand-supply balance happening in the mid-income segment. However, the luxury segment is seeing good demand with property priced above ₹10 crore in high demand. Homebuyers are however more cautious in their purchases and are taking informed decisions as ticket sizes are big," said Vijay Chugani, founder, ZenXChugs, a Bengaluru-based luxury property broker.Recent Q3FY25 results from major listed real estate firms indicate a slowdown in new bookings and absorption, even as revenue growth remains strong due to premium housing sales and higher realisations. Some developers reported a dip in pre-sales, reflecting cautious buyer sentiment ahead of the next financial year.Experts view this as a phase of stabilisation rather than a downturn, with supply constraints preventing sharp price corrections.

Ontario's premier, the leader of Canada’s most populous province, announced that effective Monday his province is charging 25% more for electricity to 1.5 million Americans in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.Ontario provides electricity to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.“President Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement. “Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario won’t back down. We’ll stand strong, use every tool in our toolkit and do whatever it takes to protect Ontario.”Ford has said Ontario’s tariff would remain in place despite the one-month reprieve from Trump, noting a one month pause means nothing but more uncertainty.Ford's office said the new market rules require any generator selling electricity to the U.S. to add a 25% surcharge to the U.S. Ontario's government expects it to generate revenue of $300,000 Canadian (US$208,000) to $400,000 Canadian (US$277,000) per day, “which will be used to support Ontario workers, families and businesses.”The new surcharge is in addition to the federal government's initial $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) worth of retaliatory tariffs have been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.Trump launched a new trade war last week by imposing tariffs against Washington’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin.Trump later said he has postponed 25% tariffs on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month, amid widespread fears of a broader trade war.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday upheld the lower tribunal’s orders to approve the scheme of arrangement for delisting of broking firm ICICI Securities Ltd from the bourses. Last year in August and October, Mumbai and Ahemadabad benches of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved applications filed by the ICICI Securities Ltd and ICICI Bank to delist the private sector lender’s securities company from the bourses. The appellate tribunal ruled this in separate applications filed by the Quantum Mufutal Fund and individual shareholder Manu Rishi Guptha challenging the NCLT orders, that approved the delisting. “Appellant has purchased shares of ICICI Securities even after the scheme was announced and the swap ratio was in the public domain it makes it obvious the appellant is not acting bona fide in raising objections to the Scheme but is indulging in speculative litigation,” observed the division bench of Justice Yogesh Khanna and a technical member Ajai Das Mehrotra in an appeal filed by Manu Rishi Guptha. “Thus the contentions raised does not inspire us to set aside a reasoned order, hence all appeals are dismissed,” said NCLAT in its 12-page order. ICICI Bank and ICICI Securities argued that the two applications filed against the brokerage house’s proposed delisting are opposed to the established principle of shareholder democracy and sought to dismiss the same. The bank and the brokerage house also argued that under Section 230 (4) of the Companies Act, only shareholders holding a minimum of 10% of the total shareholding of the company are eligible to object to a scheme of arrangement. The respondents further argued that two objectors Quantum Mutual Fund and an investor Manu Rishi Guptha hold 7,41,488 shares (0.010%) and 200 shares (0.0000% negligible shareholding) respectively in the bank. In two separate applications, Quantum Mutual Fund and an investor Manu Rishi Guptha have objected to the proposed delisting of ICICI Securities with the arguments that the swap adversely affects minority shareholders. Quantum Mutual Fund and Manu Rishi Guptha hold 0.08% and 0.002% of the paid-up equity share capital of ICICI Securities respectively.Before the tribunal’s approval in August, the delisting proposal was approved by 93.82% in value of the equity shareholders of ICICI Securities. Further, 71.89% in value of the public shareholders also approved it which is well above the requisite threshold under applicable law.In this case, Senior Counsels Arun Kathpalia and Krishnendu Datta appeared for ICICI Securities and ICICI Bank respectively, while advocate Viraj Parekh appeared for Quantum Mutual Fund and counsel Kausik Chatterjee argued for Manu Rishi Guptha.

Falling for the third day in a row, gold prices retreated by Rs 150 to Rs 88,750 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday amid a weak trend in the overseas markets, according to the All India Sarafa Association. The precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity had settled lower at Rs 88,900 per 10 grams on Friday. Gold of 99.5 per cent purity slipped by Rs 150 to Rs 88,350 per 10 grams from the previous close of Rs 88,500 per 10 grams. Silver prices also declined by Rs 250 to Rs 99,250 per kg, snapping the four-day winning run. Comex gold futures for April delivery fell 0.32 per cent to USD 2,904.80 per ounce in the international markets. Meanwhile, spot gold also fell 0.13 per cent to USD 2,905.31 per ounce. "Gold and silver saw profit-taking from recent highs due to a rebound in US bond yields. The US administration's decision to delay Mexico tariffs by a month added to the cautious sentiment. However, a weakening dollar, which fell to a five-month low and recorded its worst weekly decline since November 2022, provided tailwinds for gold and silver," Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd, said. Silver futures for May delivery traded lower at USD 32.80 per ounce.