Tale of the Tape 

Howdy folks. Welcome back to the Daily Rip!

Markets continued their sell-off, with the Nifty and Sensex ending down -1.1% each. Midcaps (-2.8%) and Smallcaps (-3.8%) got KO-ed. A whopping 450 stocks in the NSE 500 ended lower.

It was a sea of red across sectors. IT (-3.3%) led the fall, followed by Metals (-3%) and Oil & Gas (-2.2%).

The Union Budget will be announced this week. Read our top story for why this might be a pivotal movement for India’s sluggish economy & markets. 

Laurus Labs (-12%) plunged despite a solid Q3. Meanwhile, IDFC First Bank delivered stinker quarterly numbers. More details below.

HeidelbergCement India, CDSL and Bank of India saw big moves today. Check out their charts below to find out why.

Q3 reactions. DLF (+1%) posted highest ever quarterly sales. Adani Wilmar gained +3% after its net profit more than doubled.

International Gemmological Institute India was in focus after Morgan Stanely initiated coverage on the stock; the brokerage sees a +26% upside from current levels.

Religare was in focus after US based investor Danny Gaekwad proposed to acquire a 26% share in the company.

Delhivery has partnered with HPCL to manage its country-wide distribution of lubricants.

Here are the closing prints:

Economy
Budget 2025 Wishlist!

The Union Budget will be unveiled later this week. FYI - this is probably the most important budget since the pandemic. The economy is slowing down, corporate earnings are weak AF and urban consumption is flat-lining. All of this is rubbing off on markets, which sucks!

Context: The GOI has been on autopilot for the last six months. There was a small electoral setback, but the BJP is still the biggest party. Despite this, we’ve seen no big-bang reform or even attempts to curb the slowdown.

Here’s what to watch out for and what needs action ASAP:

1) Taxes: Nirmala Sitharaman wants to take every last rupee from you, but it’s clear that consumption needs a boost. The quickest way to solve this is to put more money in the hands of the middle class. Reuters says the GOI is considering tax cuts in the Budget for people earning up to 15 LPA. 

2) Jobs: PLI schemes for iPhones have worked. But manufacturing still hasn’t produced anywhere what the Indian economy needs. With job demand > job supply, we’ve actually seen real urban wages decline -0.5% YoY in Q2FY25. FYI - Nirmal Bang says an urban job creation scheme could be just what India needs, but will the GOI play ball?

3) Capex: It’s no secret that the GOI infra + defence spending has fallen in FY25. Most experts say India’s capex spending will fall ~Rs 1.5 lakh cr short of target. But they’re divided over whether Modi will choose to increase it in FY26 or rather direct it towards welfare spending (aka freebies). This has BIG consequences for several sectors.

TL;DR: The economy is slowing down just when it should be speeding up. The GOI has been asleep at the wheel so far on taxes, jobs and capex. Will it right its wrongs? Stay tuned for our in-depth Budget series this week!

Stocktwits Specials
Budget 2025 Stock Picks

Budget week is here!!! Check out our latest video where we discuss top 5 investment ideas by SEBI RAs that can gain big time from this year’s budget.