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Investors who focused on specific sectors and themes have fared better than those who bet on benchmark indices in 2025, which has been a rollercoaster year for the stock market, according to an ET study. The benchmarks Sensex and Nifty moved up 4.5% and 5.6%, respectively, this year, while NSE Defence, Capital Markets, Auto, Bank, Metal, and India Consumption indices gained between 7% and 19% in 2025. Out of the 13 sectoral and thematic indices used in the study, seven have advanced and six have declined this year. While most of the indices saw a mix of outperformers and laggards, Nifty’s IT index only had laggards. 123396678123396683In contrast, in the 12-share Nifty Bank index, only IndusInd Bank has declined this year. The index is up 9.8% year-to-date.

Mumbai: Citi said the Securities and Exchange Board of India's proposal to ease minimum public offer rules for mega Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) could remove a key hurdle for Reliance Jio's listing.According to the regulator, companies with a post-issue market capitalisation above ₹5 trillion (₹5 lakh crore) would only need to float at least 2.5% of shares, instead of the current 5% requirement.For Jio Platforms, valued by Citi at about $135 billion (₹11.7 lakh crore) in enterprise value with equity worth over $120 billion (₹10.4 lakh crore) - a lower threshold would halve the offer size to over $3 billion, compared with $6 billion under existing rules, the brokerage said."A 5% public offer would amount to $6 billion+ of share supply, which is fairly large for the Indian market to absorb, especially as 35% is reserved for retail investors," said Citi's Saurabh Handa and Prerna Goenka in the note. "A 2.5% public offer for Jio would amount to $3 billion+ of share supply, which we believe not only reduces the supply overhang at the time of the IPO but could also limit hold-company discount concerns for RIL."Citi reiterated Buy rating on Reliance with a target of ₹1,690, implying an upside of 19% from Tuesday's close of ₹1,420. The stock gained 2.8%. Citi said RIL's annual general meeting on August 29 is expected to draw investor focus on any update on Jio's listing in the wake of the regulatory proposals.Sebi's plan is aimed at preventing large stake sales risk flooding the market and depressing prices despite strong prospects.Under Sebi's proposals for easing IPO norms for large issuers, companies with post-issue market cap above ₹50,000 crore would need to sell only 8% against 10% now, while those above ₹1 lakh crore and ₹5 lakh crore would dilute 2.75% and 2.5%, compared with 5% earlier.The timeline to meet the 25% minimum public shareholding would be extended - up to five years for firms with a post IPO market cap of above ₹50,000 crore and up to 10 years for those above ₹1 lakh crore.

The National Housing Bank is tightening oversight of housing finance companies for breaching loan-to-value (LTV) norms on high-value home loans, two people aware of the development told ET. Supervisory inspections by the mortgage regulator found cases where loans above ₹s75 lakh were sanctioned at up to 90% LTV, in violation of the 75% cap. The National Housing Bank (NHB) has directed individual lenders to reclassify such advances as non-home loans (NHL)."The regulator has taken cognisance of a few mortgage lenders disbursing higher amounts on loans for high-value residential apartments," said an official aware of the NHB cautions. "The NHB has sent communications to these companies to stop such practices and classify them as non-home loans."As per existing rules, loans of up to ₹30 lakh can have an LTV of up to 90%, those between ₹30 lakh and ₹75 lakh up to 80%, and loans above ₹75 lakh up to 75%. The scrutiny is also influencing market transactions, with HFCs purchasing loan portfolios from peers now insisting on explicit disclosures of whether the underlying assets are classified as home loans or non-home loans before adding them to their own books. "Earlier, while buying loan pools, HFCs weren't seeking LTV disclosures. But after the regulatory crackdown, they are asking for explicit home loan and non-home loan classifications in the books," said another official.123394316Both the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and NHB have been cracking down on lenders flouting LTV norms. Regulators have observed that during periods of stress or economic downturns, borrowers with LTV ratios above 80% face significantly higher stress and are more prone to default.The RBI, in December last year, had cautioned lenders against excessive exposure to all types of top-up loans (including home top-up loans), which are additional credit facilities extended to customers against their existing mortgages.While many lenders perceive these loans as low-risk, they are often sanctioned with minimal due diligence, liberal underwriting, and weak adherence to prudential norms on loan-to-value ratios, risk weights, and end-use verification, the central bank had noted.The banking regulator had warned that such practices could create systemic risks, particularly if the value of the underlying collateral turns volatile or faces a cyclical downturn. At the end of September 2024, HFCs had a total outstanding housing loan portfolio of ₹6.25 lakh crore, compared with the overall industry size of nearly ₹34 lakh crore, NHB data showed.

The government's aim is to make India's automobile industry the number one in the world in the next five years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. Launching a report prepared by The Express Industry Council of India (EICI) and KPMG, Gadkari said the future of express industry is very good in the country. "The size of Indian automobile industry is now Rs 22 lakh crore... my aim is to make India's automobile industry number one in the world in the next five years," Gadkari said. The minster further said when he took charge of the transport ministry in 2014, the size of the automobile industry was Rs 7.5 lakh crore and today its size is Rs 22 lakh crore. Presently, the size of the US automobile industry is Rs 78 lakh crore, followed by China (Rs 47 lakh crore) and India (Rs 22 lakh crore). Gadkari said the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to make India third largest economy in the world and logistics sector will play an important role in achieving this dream. Gadkari said until recently, logistics cost in India was about 16 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). "I want to share that, according to a joint IIM-IIT survey, we have brought this (logistics cost) down to 10 per cent. "That is a major milestone and we are aiming to bring logistics cost down to single-digit soon," Gadkari said. The minister credited the fall in logistics cost to massive investments in expressway and economic corridors. According to the report titled 'Powering India's Economy, Connecting Business and Markets', express industry contributes USD 1-1.5 billion GST and USD 650 million to customs revenue annually. "The size of express industry sector is projected to double from USD 9 billion in FY25 to USD 18-22 billion by 2030, creating 6.5-7.5 million jobs," it said. The report noted that the express industry has transformed from a logistics facility to an essential service provider. Domestic express accounts for about 70 per cent of the total market, valued at USD 6.3-6.5 billion, with surface express contributing the largest share, it added. The report added that international express segment with a share of about 30 per cent, handled 19.5 million shipment, weighing about 1,52,300 tonnes in FY24.