Krishna Kant

Retail, oil & gas divisions remain laggards

A stalled index masked stock-level swings across sectors. Krishna Kant & Ram Prasad Sahu identify the biggest movers of 2025

Earnings likely grew at slowest pace in 6 quarters

Electronics and solar demands reshape the precious metals trade

India's billionaire promoters lose ground as equity market weakness and rupee depreciation drag wealth growth below the pace of the country's fast-expanding GDP

Over four decades, traditional players have ceded significant ground to state-run enterprises and new, institutionally owned businesses that now drive market growth

It has beat gold and traditional savings, delivering a consistent winning streak while creating significant wealth for ordinary people who held their investments through decades of economic growth

All three Bharti group companies out-performed in CY25 but the biggest gains came from their flagship Bharti Airtel

But a robust IPO market leads to emergence of 9 new promoter billionaires

Some stocks that rallied last year have been among the biggest laggards of 2025, while many underperformers have emerged as winners

Retail NBFCs like Bajaj Finance, Muthoot and Shriram Finance are expanding faster than banks, led by strong demand in gold loans, vehicles and housing finance, analysts say

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) in the sector is up by 1800 points in the last decade to record high of 4500 in FY25

Mid and small-cap companies delivered their fastest earnings growth in seven quarters, lifting their share of India Inc's profits even as Nifty 50 firms saw a slowdown

Analysts attribute the relative slowdown among private-sector banks partly to specific events, notably the merger between HDFC Bank and HDFC

Their sales uptick least in 17 quarters

Other key sectors such as IT Services, FMCG, Banking and Power however continue to struggle with low single digit growth in revenues and earnings

TCS loses its premium edge as slower profit growth and margin pressure pull its P/E below rivals for the first time since 2011

Nifty 50 trading at 20% discount, highest in 17 years

The Great Defensive Slump: 2025 turned FMCG, IT, and pharma into market laggards. Yet with earnings stable and valuations cooling, their next move could surprise

After two years of record highs, brokerages see the slowdown as a reset for sustainable growth - driven by rising incomes, digital depth, and maturing investors