Where is the market headed?
The week ended with the market showing hope for a possible Fed rate cut next week, and there was a fair amount of optimism in the air.
One of the big news items was the ₹18,000 crore buyback program announced by Infosys. Buybacks are often used by companies to lift sentiment when there are not many other growth options visible. It is essentially the company saying that instead of finding new ways to use the cash, it is returning the money to shareholders. While some see it as a clever accounting play, it is a very common global practice to keep stock prices up.
Another big development was the IPO of Urban Company, which got subscribed nearly 100 times. Many fundamental analysts have already called the IPO super expensive. Reports suggest there may be 30 to 50 percent listing gains, which has led to a kind of mania in the market. But investors have been advised to stay cautious and enter only with a clear plan in mind.
Market Overview
The market opened with a gap-up and managed to sustain it through the day. Nifty rose by 0.43% and broke above a key trend line, suggesting it could move toward previous highs.
Nifty Next 50
Nifty Junior was up 0.32%.
Nifty Mid and Small Cap
Midcaps gained 0.28%, and Small caps also edged 0.32% higher.
Bank Nifty
Bank Nifty was up 0.26%.
GOLD
Gold continued its strong rise, touching nearly ₹11,000 per gram, up from ₹9,800 just three weeks back. With market premiums of about ₹3,000–₹3,500 per 10 grams, the actual cost of buying gold is even higher.
Advance Decline Ratio
The advance-decline ratio was slightly negative but still healthy.
Heat Maps
Among the major gainers were Bharat Electronics in the defense space, L&T Infra, Hindalco, Eicher, Maruti, Tata Motors, Reliance, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, and Shriram Finance.
On the losing side, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti, Wipro, and Bajaj Auto gave up some ground.
Mover Of The Day
Hindustan Copper was a standout mover, jumping over 12% after announcing a ₹2,000 crore capex plan spread over five to six years.
Sectoral Overview
Sector of the Day
Nifty India Defence Index
Sectorally, Defence was the star performer, rising 4.38% in a single day. In just one week, Defence stocks were already up 7%, showing how quickly momentum can shift.
Tweets Of the Day
On the global front, Frank Giustra, a well-known gold analyst, pointed out that BRICS is working on a dollar-free payments system, which could impact paper gold markets. The concern is that while only a limited amount of physical gold exists, multiple times that amount is lent out in paper contracts. This creates a risk of default if too many people demand delivery at once.
He reminded investors about the 1933 episode in the US, when citizens were forced to surrender their gold at $20 per ounce, only for the government to reprice it to $35 the very next day. Such examples highlight the risks of paper gold.
The lesson is to ensure that gold holdings—whether physical, ETFs, or sovereign gold bonds—remain secure. In India, gold ETFs are tightly regulated, and sovereign gold bonds are backed by the government, though laws can always change in extreme cases. Digital gold, however, remains largely unregulated, which makes it riskier.
On a lighter note, another tweet said you are truly wealthy when a 5% drop in body fat gives you more joy than a 5% rise in your net worth. The idea is that health itself is a form of wealth, and achieving both financial and physical well-being can be the ultimate satisfaction.
