The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has expressed concern over the recent announcement by US President Donald Trump to double import tariffs on steel and aluminium from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, citing potential disruption to India’s steel and aluminium exports, particularly in value-added and finished steel products and auto- components.

Reacting to the development, FIEO president S.C. Ralhan stated that the proposed increase in US steel and aluminium import tariffs will have a significant bearing on India’s steel exports, especially in semi-finished and finished categories like stainless steel pipes, structural steel components, and automotive steel parts.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has confirmed the suspension of LS Industries, its promoter Profound Finance, and four other individuals from participating in the securities markets.

The action comes as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of fraudulent activities and manipulation of the company’s share price.

The individuals barred include Jahangir Panikkaveettil Perumbarambathu, the promoter of Profound Finance, as well as Suresh Goyal, Alka Sahni, and Shashi Kant Sahni HUF, a Dubai-based NRI shareholder of LS Industries.

SEBI has extended the deadline for completing the investigation until November 15 and has directed all involved parties to cooperate fully with the inquiry.

Indian stock markets ended the week on a cautious note, marking the second consecutive week of consolidation. This subdued performance came amid ongoing global trade tensions and anticipation surrounding domestic policy developments, analysts said on Saturday.

The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, witnessed notable volatility through the week, eventually closing lower as investors reacted to uncertainties over U.S. tariff developments and awaited the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upcoming monetary policy decision. By the end of the week, the Nifty settled at 24,750.70, while the Sensex closed at 81,451.01.

“Despite encouraging domestic cues, mixed signals from global markets kept investor sentiment on edge. Initially, optimism prevailed following the RBI’s record dividend payout and positive updates regarding the monsoon,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

The Indian economy is poised to remain the fastest-growing major economy in FY26 by leveraging its sound macroeconomic fundamentals, robust financial sector and commitment towards sustainable growth, according to a State Bank of India (SBI) report.

With higher anticipated saving based on latest RBI annual report, the domestic finances will be sufficient to finance the anticipated growth and “we do not expect demand induced pressure on prices in FY26,” said Dr Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser, SBI.

The downside to growth emanate from external and geopolitical factors, Ghosh added.

From the expenditure side, the GDP growth of 7.4 per cent in Q4 was supported by strong uptick in the capital formation which registered a 9.4 per cent annual growth.

The recovery in capital formation was on account of revival in core sector in Q4 as evident from high frequency indicators. The overall growth in capital formation for FY25 now stands 7.1 per cent.

India’s economy has maintained a steady growth trajectory, with real GDP expanding by 6.5 per cent in FY 2024-25, largely driven by healthy growth in private consumption and capital formation, industry leaders said on Friday.

In nominal terms, GDP grew by 9.8 per cent, highlighting India’s position as one of the fastest-growing major economies globally, said Hemant Jain, President, PHDCCI.

The Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) increased by 7.2 per cent, while Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) rose by 7.1 per cent in Q4, reflecting investment-led momentum.

“GVA growth in Q4 was led by 10.8 per cent growth in construction sector followed by public administration and defence-related services at 8.7 per cent,” Jain noted.

At the prestigious Ideas for India Conference 2025 held at the Royal Lancaster London, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha delivered a blistering address that tore through the global narrative of Pakistan as a victim, declaring it instead as a state sponsor of terror. Invited by the UK-based think tank Bridge India as a featured speaker alongside top Indian business leaders and policymakers, Raghav Chadha used the international stage to demand a decisive shift in global policy: “Diplomacy fails with duplicity, and terror nullifies tolerance,” he declared.

Raghav Chadha warned the global community that continued aid to Pakistan enables violence, not peace. “We offer a hand of friendship—but it can turn into a fist of retribution if provoked,” he said, making clear that India’s patience is not limitless in the face of cross-border aggression.

India's GDP growth accelerated to a robust 7.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024-25, as result of which the growth rate for the full financial year works out to 6.5 per cent on the back of a strong performance of the agriculture, construction, and services sectors, official data released on Friday showed.

The agriculture sector recorded a 4.6 per cent growth rate during 2024-25, up from 2.7 per cent in 2023-24 when an erratic monsoon had damaged crops. During Q4, FY 2024-25, the growth rate of the agriculture sector jumped to 5 per cent compared to 0.8 per cent in Q4 of the previous financial year, figures compiled by the Ministry of Statistics showed.

The construction’ sector is estimated to have registered an impressive growth rate of 9.4 per cent in FY 2024-25, followed by 8.9 per cent growth rate in the ‘Public Administration, Defence & Other Services’ sector while the ‘Financial, Real Estate & Professional Services’ sector posted a 7.2 per cent growth for the financial year.

The Indian stock market closed lower in Friday's trading session. At the end of trading, the Sensex was down 182.01 points or 0.22 per cent at 81,451.01 while the Nifty was down 82.9 points or 0.33 per cent at 24,750.70.

Midcap and smallcap closed almost flat. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed down 37.25 points at 57,420.00 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed down 6.10 points at 17,883.30.

Metal and IT stocks led the decline. Nifty Metal index closed down by 1.69 per cent and Nifty IT index down by 1.15 per cent. Apart from this, auto, pharma and FMCG sectors also saw a decline. Only PSU bank, financial services and media indices closed in the green.

The Nifty remained volatile with a slightly negative bias on the first day of the June series. On the smaller time frame, the index has formed a bearish moving average crossover.

Net financial savings of India’s household sector may reach Rs 22 lakh crore or 6.5 per cent of gross national disposable income (GNDI) in FY25 based on the current trends, according to an SBI report released on Friday.

With the latest RBI annual report indicating that the household sector showed strong financial resilience, with net savings rising to 5.1 per cent of gross national disposable income (GNDI) in FY24, the SBI report says this growing capital pool remains crucial for funding government and corporate deficits and supporting macroeconomic stability.

Further, as against the increase in household liabilities to 6.1 per cent of GNDI, the gross financial savings of households increased to 11.2 per cent of GNDI in 2023-24 from 10.7 per cent in the previous year.

The Finance Ministry said on Friday it has suggested that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should exclude small borrowers of up to Rs 2 lakh from the provisions of its draft directions on lending against gold collateral. The Finance Ministry has also suggested that the implementation of the guidelines be postponed to next year.

“The draft directions on lending against gold collateral issued by the RBI have been examined by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the guidance of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The DFS has given suggestions to the RBI to ensure that the requirements of the small gold loan borrowers are not adversely affected,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement on X.

DFS has also stated that such guidelines will need time to implement at the field level and hence may be suitable for implementation from January 1, 2026 only, the statement said.