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India's stock market benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty 50, saw a strong rebound on Monday, each rising over 1% at the start of the week. This positive momentum broke a five-day losing streak caused by ongoing foreign fund outflows and lackluster earnings for the September quarter.
The BSE Sensex opened at 79,653.67, up from its previous close of 79,402.29, and continued to climb, gaining over 1.3%. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty 50 opened at 24,251.10, up from 24,180.80, moving above the 24,400 mark with a similar 1% gain. All sectoral indices turned positive, and broader market indices like the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 also contributed to the gains.
The Tata Group is set to enter the fast-growing quick commerce sector with "Neu Flash," a new feature within its e-commerce platform Tata Neu, aiming to rival leading players like Zomato's Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto. As reported by The Economic Times, this move follows the recent entries of Flipkart and Reliance Industries into ultra-fast delivery.
Initially available to select users, Neu Flash will cover groceries, electronics, and fashion, leveraging Tata brands such as BigBasket for groceries, Croma for electronics, and Tata Cliq for fashion. Flipkart’s "Minutes" and Reliance JioMart’s pilot service in this space are already underway, intensifying competition in a market where Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto hold a dominant 85% share. Tata’s e-pharmacy, 1mg, currently offering rapid medicine delivery in certain Delhi-NCR regions, is also expected to integrate with Neu Flash, further diversifying the service.
Swiggy, India's food delivery leader, has reduced its anticipated IPO valuation to $11.3 billion, down from an initial target of $15 billion, amid challenging market conditions and a lukewarm response to Hyundai India's debut, according to insiders. The $1.4 billion IPO, set to be the second-largest in India this year, has drawn investments from BlackRock and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Indian stocks have faced a four-week decline, with the Nifty 50 index falling over 8% since September highs due to sustained foreign selling. Swiggy, last valued at $10.7 billion in a 2022 funding round led by Invesco, competes closely with Zomato and has made significant investments in rapid grocery delivery. Despite market volatility, India’s IPO scene remains active, with roughly $12.57 billion raised by 270 companies this year, surpassing last year's total of $7.4 billion.
With the festival season in full swing, car dealerships across India are offering substantial discounts, ranging from Rs 25,000 to over Rs 1 lakh on various models. Dealers note that these discounts are notably higher than last year’s, reflecting an increase of 40-50% on average due to improved supply chains. Discounts on some models have surged up to 75%, mainly on less popular cars. Offers are available from both manufacturers and individual dealerships, with models like the Maruti Suzuki Celerio, Swift, and Ciaz showing discounts between Rs 35,000 and Rs 50,000. The Maruti Suzuki Ignis MT currently has the highest discount at Rs 65,000, a significant jump from Rs 23,000 in October 2022. Similarly, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz’s discount has risen from Rs 25,000 last year to Rs 53,000. In-demand SUV models, however, continue to see limited discounts.
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