India's inflation falls, 4 new semiconductor plants, Hindalco profits up 30%, & more — Daily Digest
Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Markets opened below yesterday’s closing point.
Nifty 50 sharply rose and fell in the first half of the day and closed in red.
The fall may have been due to investors being cautious ahead of the Trump-Putin meet on 15 Aug. There were concerns about India and US inflation data too.
Pharma stocks and media stocks rose the most today. Private bank stocks and realty stocks fell the most.
Global markets: US markets closed in red. Most Asian markets rose. Most European markets were flat (as of 6 pm IST).
News
The US’s inflation rate stood at 2.7% year-on-year in July (same as June). Core inflation rose to 3.1% (vs 2.9% in June).
India’s retail inflation rate fell to 1.55% year-on-year in July (vs 2.1% in June). Food inflation fell to -1.76% (vs -1.01% in June).
The government approved 4 semiconductor manufacturing units worth Rs 4,600 crore to be set up in Odisha, Punjab, and Andhra Pradesh.
The government approved the construction of a 700 MW hydro electric project worth Rs 8,146.21 crore. The project will be set in Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Bluestone Jewellery IPO has been subscribed 0.65 times. Retail subscription: 0.73 times. IPO closes tomorrow (13 Aug).
Stocks Updates
Hindustan Aeronautics: net profit fell 4% year-on-year to Rs 1,384 crore in the April-June quarter.
Hindalco: net profit rose 30% year-on-year to Rs 4,004 crore in the April-June quarter.
Zydus Lifesciences: net profit rose 3% year-on-year to Rs 1,521 crore in the April-June quarter.
Suzlon Energy: net profit rose 7% year-on-year to Rs 324 crore in the April-June quarter.
M&M: a company subsidiary, Mahindra Holdings, will invest up to Rs 1,080 crore in Mahindra Susten (step down subsidiary) for its renewable energy projects for FY 2025-26.
Trent: launched its new youth fashion brand “Burnt Toast” with its first store in Bengaluru.
Hindustan Zinc: has become the first Indian company to join the ICMM (International Council on Mining and Metals). ICMM is a group of 25 top global mining and metals companies dedicated to sustainable, transparent, and ethical practices.
Indian Hotels: will add 150+ hotels, expanding its portfolio to over 550 hotels and doubling its midscale presence to 240+ properties. It has partnered with ANK Hotels, Pride Hospitality, and Brij Hospitality for the same.
CG Power: company’s US-based subsidiary has partnered with Flanders Electric (a global electrical rotating equipment company) to expand in the US railway sector.
Lupin: partnered with Switzerland-based Sandoz Group to commercialize its biosimilar Ranibizumab in multiple global regions. Lupin will handle manufacturing and regulatory submissions.
Word of the Day
Commodity Markets
It is a marketplace — physical or online — for buying and selling commodities
These commodities include metals (gold, silver), energy (crude oil, natural gas, electricity), agricultural products (wheat, coffee), and even livestock (cattle).
Trades can happen immediately or at a future date — which is used for reducing risk and effect of price changes.
India’s major commodity exchanges are MCX (Multi Commodity Exchange), NCDEX (National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange), and ICEX (Indian Commodity Exchange).
They are regulated by SEBI.
6 Day Course
Theme: illiquid shares
Day 2: Tuesday
Illiquidity because of shares hitting circuit limits:
Let’s say there is a company that has had horrible news — something so bad, very few want to buy shares of the company.
In such cases, trying to sell these shares can become a challenge — too many people are trying to sell and not enough are buying.
As the share price falls, there can be many moments where trade is not happening since the sellers’ price expectation and the buyers’ expectations are not matching.
In this case, the share price will keep hitting the lower circuit where trading is temporarily paused.
That said, a company’s shares being illiquid is not necessarily a bad thing.
Sometimes, a similar problem arises in case of very good companies.
Say, some good news has come in and nobody wants to sell their shares.
So anybody looking to buy these shares struggles to find sellers.
In this case, the share price will keep hitting the upper circuit where trading is temporarily paused.
Featured Question
Q. “Quoting from monday's digest, "Equity mutual funds have a lower rate of tax than FDs too", please elaborate.”
FD or RD is taxed based on the income tax slab.
Which means, there is no separate rate of tax for FDs. The profit from FDs is added to your annual income (along with salary or business income).
If you are investing for the long term, the invested amount will grow much bigger than Rs 12 lakh.
When the FD matures, it could easily attract a tax anywhere from 15% to effectively 39% (depending on your total income in that financial year).
To understand this better, look at the income tax slab rates.
On the other hand, equity mutual fund gains and shares investment gains are taxed at 12.5% fixed (after 1 year from investment).
Hence, the tax rate is effectively much lower.
On the other hand, if your annual income is low and the amount invested in FD is also low, then the effective tax rate is lower in case of FDs.
Example: if your FD gains at maturity plus your annual income is below Rs 12 lakh, you can pay 0% tax.
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