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Consumer behaviour this season reflects a bullish sentiment, fuelled by GST-enabled price reductions that have lowered costs in high-ticket categories such as electronics and pushed festive demand up 23-25 per cent across metropolitan and emerging markets. The GST reforms, effective from September 22 -- the first day of Navratri --reduced tax rates in several high-demand categories, including large-screen TVs, mid-range fashion and furniture, providing direct price benefits to consumers. These changes have not only lowered retail prices but also encouraged shoppers to look beyond tactical discount-hunting towards more aspirational purchases, lifting participation from tier 2 and tier 3 cities and stimulating growth in discretionary spending. According to market research firm Redseer, the reduction of GST on large TVs from 28 to 18 per cent led to a 6-8 per cent fall in retail prices, boosting demand for premium models. Fashion items priced below Rs 2,500 now attract just 5 per cent GST, encouraging mid-market apparel purchases, while furniture, now also taxed at 5 per cent, has shifted from wishlists to shopping carts. "First 2 days sales surged by 23-25 per cent year-on-year, marking a four-to-fivefold jump in growth over last year's muted start. The twin forces of GST 2.0 reforms and festive sentiment powered a wave of premium smartphone and TV purchases, with loyalty members driving record demand. "For the first time in years, India's festive e-commerce season is not just about deals it's about policy shifts, consumer confidence, and platforms vying to capture the premium basket. "User feedback suggested that demand was so strong that some apps even faced massive slowness and crashed within minutes of trying to place orders, suggesting positive sentiment of users to spend and grab flash deals and early-bird discounts," Redseer said. E-commerce major Amazon reported over 38 crore customer visits in the first two days of its festive sale, marking its biggest-ever seasonal start, with more than 70 per cent of traffic coming from outside the top nine metros. Sales growth was particularly visible in categories such as smartphones, appliances, fashion and wellness products, with premium items like QLED and Mini-LED TVs, advanced washing machines and flagship smartphones seeing robust demand. Small and medium businesses (SMBs), especially from tier 2 and tier 3 cities, accounted for significant sales momentum, with over 16,000 SMBs tripling their sales compared to an average day, Amazon said. "The #GSTBachatUtsav initiative has been incredibly well-received, with sellers passing on GST benefits worth crores in just 48 hours through our dedicated storefront featuring home appliances, electronics, daily essentials, healthcare, fashion, and more. We're humbled to see strong business growth for lakhs of sellers across the country, from small businesses and local artisans to made-in-India brands," said Saurabh Srivastava, Vice President, Amazon India. Flipkart reported a 21 per cent increase in user visits during the first 48 hours of its festive sale compared with last year, attributing the rise largely to the GST 2.0 reforms. Categories such as mobiles, TVs and refrigerators recorded a 26 per cent year-on-year jump in demand. Growth was seen not only in the metros but also in cities like Indore, Surat, and Varanasi, indicating deeper penetration into non-traditional markets. Snapdeal, too, observed sharp momentum in fashion, with the category doubling year-on-year and seasonal apparel soaring nearly fivefold. Festive gifting segments such as serveware recorded even sharper surges of around 350 per cent. "We believe the recent GST changes have also played a definitive role in shaping consumer choices. Categories like apparel and footwear, which have benefited from reduced GST rates, are seeing stronger traction in the ongoing sale. We see a bullish consumer sentiment, buoyed by festive offers and lower prices due to GST-led price reductions," Snapdeal CEO Achint Setia said.

Shares of GK Energy extended their post-listing gains on Friday, surging 6.6% to hit an intraday high of Rs 175.95 on the BSE. This fresh upmove comes after the stock listed with an 11.8% premium over its issue price of Rs 153 earlier in the day, taking total listing gains for IPO investors to nearly 15%.GK Energy’s robust debut reflects strong investor appetite, with its Rs 464 crore IPO subscribed 93.6 times overall, led by high institutional demand. The company had priced its IPO at Rs 153 per share, valuing it at a market capitalization of around Rs 3,103 crore at the upper end of the price band.The company intends to utilise the proceeds from the IPO to primarily fund working capital requirements amounting to Rs 322 crore, with the rest allocated for general corporate purposes.Analysts previously noted that despite being fully priced, GK Energy’s strong fundamentals, visible earnings trajectory, and healthy order book provide support for further upside potential.Financially, the company reported revenue of Rs 1,099 crore and profit after tax of Rs 133 crore in FY25, translating into a healthy PAT margin of 12.1%. EBITDA stood at Rs 200 crore, with strong return ratios — 63.7% ROE and 55.7% ROCE — underlining the company’s operational efficiency.GK Energy is India’s largest pure-play provider of EPC services for solar-powered agricultural water pump systems under the PM-KUSUM scheme. Its asset-light business model and solid order book — valued at over Rs 1,028 crore as of August 2025 — have boosted investor confidence.Around 10:30 am, the shares of GK Energy were trading with overall gains of 13.4% at Rs 173.45 over its IPO price.Also read: Sun Pharma, Cipla & other pharma stocks crack up to 5% as Trump announces 100% tariff on imported patented drugs(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Shares of Tata Motors gained 2% to their day’s high of Rs 677 on the NSE on Friday, September 26, after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced a phased restart of its operations after a cyberattack halted production for almost a month. With today’s gain, the stock snapped a 2-day losing streak.“As part of the controlled, phased restart of our operations, today we have informed colleagues, suppliers and retail partners that sections of our digital estate are now up and running. The foundational work of our recovery programme is firmly underway”, the company’s British subsidiary said.Also read: Copper is the new gold? Why this reddish glow can help your portfolio growThe luxury carmaker added that it has significantly ramped up its IT processing capacity for invoicing and is now working to clear the backlog of supplier payments at the earliest. Its Global Parts Logistics Centre — which supplies distribution centres for retail partners in the UK and globally — is returning to full operations, enabling partners to continue servicing customer vehicles.Additionally, the financial system used for processing wholesale vehicle sales is back online, allowing the company to sell and register vehicles more quickly and improve cash flow.The development gains significance as JLR, earlier this week, announced that it is extending the production delay until October 1. “JLR accounts for 70-75% of its consolidated revenue; the attack's disruption to production and IT systems could have a significant financial impact. The estimated revenue loss is £300-400 million, with an additional £50-100 million in indirect costs. This could translate to a 1-2% drag on Tata Motors' FY26 EBITDA,” Santosh Meena of Swastika Investmart told ETMarkets.JLR did not disclose the details on what kind of data was affected but said it had informed relevant authorities."Our forensic investigation continues at pace and we will contact anyone as appropriate if we find that their data has been impacted," the company said earlier this month.At about 9:45 am, shares of Tata Motors were trading at Rs 675, higher by 1.7% from the last close on the NSE. Given the negative news circling regarding the same, the stock slipped over 6% in the last 4 sessions.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

With Silver ETFs offering an average return of 53.95% in the current calendar year so far and up to 54.57% return in the same period, market experts believe that silver has continued its strong upward trend since June, gaining fresh support from a multi-month breakout in gold.“Silver has continued its strong upward trend since June, gaining fresh support from a multi-month breakout in gold and the tightening physical supplies, particularly the decline in liquidity in the London market, has also contributed to silver’s bull run over the past few weeks,” according to a report by Tata Mutual Fund on commodities.Also Read | How JioBlackRock Mutual Fund is using AI to generate alpha in its new flexicap fund“Announcement of a 50% tariff on copper by the US administration last month has sparked concerns that similar measures might be extended to silver. Even though rates have come down a bit, they’re still higher than what we've seen in recent years. Silver prices rose in August supported by tight supply and strong industrial demand, especially from China’s solar sector,” the report further added.There were around 21 funds based on the silver commodity who have marked their presence in the said time period. HDFC Silver ETF FoF offered the highest return of around 54.57% in the current calendar year so far. This was followed by SBI Silver ETF FOF which gave 54.54% return in the mentioned time period. Nippon India Silver ETF FOF and Aditya Birla SL Silver ETF gave 54.46% and 54.40% respectively in the current calendar year so far. This was followed by ICICI Pru Silver ETF which gave 54.38%.UTI Silver ETF and Tata Silver ETF were the last ones in the list and these funds gave 53.21% and 51.45% returns respectively in 2025 so far.Post witnessing the short term performance, should silver be treated as a tactical bet or a long term bet? A market expert believes that before adding any asset to your core portfolio, it must serve a clear purpose and for most investors, especially those seeking long-term stability and reasonable returns, silver is better suited as a satellite or opportunistic holding – not a core asset.“Before adding any asset to your ‘Core Portfolio’, it must serve a clear purpose. Broadly, an asset should deliver on one or more of the following four roles - Enhance Long Term Returns, Reduce Portfolio Volatility, Act as a Crisis Hedge, Generate Regular Income. Based on history and our analysis, silver does not improve the long-term return potential of a portfolio – especially when compared to traditional core assets like equity and gold. From both depth and frequency of drawdowns, silver introduces more volatility, not less, to a portfolio. It does not serve the role of reducing portfolio risk – unlike assets such as gold or high-quality fixed income,” said Jiral Mehta, Senior Research Manager, FundsIndia.Mehta also adds that Silver does not serve as a reliable crisis hedge like Gold in fact, its tendency to fall during broad equity market declines limits its role as a defensive asset – unlike gold, which has a proven track record of doing well during turbulent times. “Silver is a non-income generating asset, making it unsuitable for investors seeking stable cash flows from their portfolio. While silver may have tactical or thematic appeal, it does not fulfill any of the four core roles required for strategic portfolio allocation. For most investors, especially those seeking long-term stability and reasonable returns, silver is better suited as a satellite or opportunistic holding – not a core asset,” Mehta added.Also Read | Explainer: Are SIFs too complex for first-time investors versus mutual funds?Based on monthly returns in 2025, Silver has shown a mixed trend. In January and February, silver gave an average return of 0.11% and 5.65% respectively, according to the report by Tata Mutual Fund. The report further showed that in March, the performance dropped to an average return of 3.61% and then further dipped to a negative average return of 3.02% in April. In May, silver commodity gave an average return of 1.68% followed by 9.89% in April, the highest so far in 2025. In July and August, the average return by silver was 4.51% and 1.305 respectively. Out of eight months so far, silver has outperformed its counterpart - Gold in four months - March, June, July, and August.According to a report by ETMarkets, on Wednesday, gold and silver settled on a weaker note in the domestic market and international markets. Gold October futures contract settled at Rs 1,12,555 per 10 grams with a loss of 1.13% and silver December futures contract settled at Rs 1,34,002 per kilogram with a loss of 0.78%. Gold and silver show profit taking from the record-high levels amid a rebound in the dollar index after better-than-expected U.S. new home sales data.If an investor is willing to invest at the current level which is over Rs 1 lakh what are the risks involved one should know before investing. According to Mehta, While silver may have tactical or thematic appeal, it does not fulfill any of the four core roles required for strategic portfolio allocation and for most investors, especially those seeking long-term stability and reasonable returns, silver is better suited as a satellite or opportunistic holding – not a core asset.In 2025 so far, the counterparts - gold ETFs have offered an average return of 47.42% and gave up to 48.02% return indicating that silver ETFs have delivered higher returns compared to gold ETFs.In the last one year, silver ETFs have offered an average return of 49.54% whereas gold ETFs gave an average return of 50.08% in the same period. Looking at the outperformance, Mehta believes that silver’s dual identity – part precious metal, part industrial commodity – makes it an interesting asset. However, interest alone isn’t a reason to invest.“As a core portfolio asset, silver fails to deliver on any of the four essential roles: it neither enhances long-term returns, reduces volatility, acts as a crisis hedge, nor generates income. As a tactical allocation, silver’s potential is heavily dependent on precise timing – both entry and exit. Current indicators, including a maturing supply deficit and mixed relative performance versus gold, do not present a strong tactical opportunity,” said Mehta.Mehta further added that while silver continues to attract interest and carries a strong narrative, the evidence does not support a meaningful allocation – whether in the core or tactical portfolio and a disciplined, data-driven approach focused on assets that consistently deliver across cycles will continue to serve you better over the long term.Also Read | Quant Mutual Fund launches Hybrid Long-Short SIFOn the other hand, Tata Mutual Fund believes that silver is a potential growth story for the medium term with the dual advantage of being a precious and industrial metal both and silver is witnessing increased demand as an industrial metal in Solar and Renewables.“The recent surge in the prices was majorly attributed by safe haven demand for Silver as well and improved Chinese data. One can look for decline to enter for the medium term to long term investment,” the fund house added.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in along with your age, risk profile, and Twitter handle.