The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday withdrew Rs 1,00,010 crore from the banking system through a seven-day variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auction.

The move is aimed at reducing the excess liquidity currently present in the banking system. According to a statement by the RBI, it received bids worth Rs 1,70,880 crore during the auction.

“Out of this, the central bank accepted Rs 1,00,010 crore at a cut-off rate of 5.47 percent,” the Central Bank said in its statement.

This step is expected to reduce the surplus liquidity and could lead to a rise in short-term overnight rates.

As per the RBI’s latest data, the banking system had a liquidity surplus of around Rs 4.04 lakh crore as of July 3.

Despite previous liquidity absorption efforts, the system remained in surplus, largely due to month-end government inflows such as salary and pension disbursements.

Defence stocks were trading in positive territory on Friday, a day after the union government approved the purchase of defence equipment worth Rs 1.05 lakh crore.

Shares of all major public sector defence companies, including BEL, BEML, Hindustan Aeronautics, and Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilder, rose by up to 4.5 per cent during intraday trading.

Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders shares were up 1.46 per cent at Rs 3,337.80 on NSE. The shipbuilding company's shares opened at Rs 3,320.0 and rose to hit an intra-day high of Rs 3,369.0 during the trading hours.

Shares of Nuvama Wealth management plummeted over 10 per cent on Friday after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred Jane Street, a US-based trading entity, from accessing the domestic equity market, asking them to deposit alleged illegal gains of Rs 4,843.5 crore in an account in favour of the market's regulator.

Nuvama Wealth Management is Jane Street's trading partner for Indian stock markets.

Around 12:45 p.m., Nuvama Wealth shares were trading at Rs 7,408.50, down 9.45 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) compared to the previous day's closing price.

The scrip started trading in negative territory at Rs 7,940.0, falling Rs 235 against the last session's closing price of 8,175.50 on the exchange.

In one of the biggest market manipulation cases India has witnessed in recent years, US-based trading firm Jane Street is under the scanner for allegedly using sophisticated strategies to rig Indian stock indices and pocket over Rs 43,000 crore in options profits.

According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Jane Street and its related entities devised an elaborate intra-day trading strategy to artificially inflate and deflate the Bank Nifty index -- mainly on expiry days -- to gain from massive options positions.

The regulator found that between January 1, 2023, and March 31, 2025, Jane Street entities booked staggering profits of Rs 43,289 crore, largely from Bank Nifty options.

This was allegedly achieved by manipulating prices in the cash and futures market -- with precision, scale, and timing that pointed to deliberate intent.

According to SEBI, the strategy involved aggressive buying of Bank Nifty component stocks and futures during morning trading hours, which caused the index to rise.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred US trading entity Jane Street and three of its related entities from accessing the market, directing them to deposit illegal gains of Rs 4,843.5 crore in an account in favour of the markets regulator.

In its order, the regulator has also directed a debit freeze on the bank accounts of these entities, which include JSI2 Investments Private Ltd, Jane Street Singapore Pte. Ltd and Jane Street Asia Trading Ltd.

According to the SEBI order, Jane Street earned Rs 43,289.33 crore in profits through trading in index options on Indian exchanges between January 1, 2023, and March 31, 2025.

As per the order, Jane Street on 14 expiry days used to heavily buy Bank Nifty futures in huge amounts as well in the cash segment and sell Bank Nifty options in big numbers -- all in the morning.

The domestic benchmark indices opened marginally higher on Friday amid mixed global cues, as buying was seen in the IT, PSU bank and financial service sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.34 am, Sensex was trading 32.52 points or 0.04 per cent up at 83,271.99 while the Nifty added 3.45 points or 0.01 per cent at 25,408.75.

According to analysts, Nifty 50 opened on a positive note but failed to sustain momentum, breaching its intraday support at 25,450 and forming a bearish candlestick pattern on the daily chart.

"This development may signal a potential trend reversal; however, further confirmation is awaited. A sustained move above 25,600 could pave the way for a rally toward 25,750," said Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst of Choice Broking.

Aadhaar number holders carried out 229.33 crore authentication transactions in June 2025, which is more than the previous month this year as well as the same month of the previous financial year, reflecting the extensive usage and utility of Aadhaar, and the growth of digital economy in the country, according to an official statement issued on Thursday.

With this, the cumulative number of such transactions has gone past 15,452 crore since the inception of Aadhaar. The June 2025 authentication transactions are nearly 7.8 per cent more than such transactions recorded in June 2024, the statement issued by the Ministry of IT & Electronics said.

The Indian stock markets ended lower on Thursday after a day of cautious trading, as late selling pressure erased earlier gains. Investors remained watchful amid hopes of a possible trade agreement between the US and India.

The Sensex touched an intra-day high of 83,850 in early trade but eventually closed 170.22 points or 0.2 per cent lower at 83,239.7. Similarly, the Nifty also slipped by 48.1 points or 0.19 per cent, settling at 25,405.3 by the end of the session.

Markets traded volatile on the weekly expiry day and ended marginally lower, continuing the ongoing consolidation phase, said Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking Limited.

After an initial uptick, the Nifty oscillated sharply in both directions while remaining within Wednesday’s trading range, ultimately closing at 25,405.30.

India's real GDP growth is projected to grow in a range of 6.4-6.7 per cent in FY26, reinforcing the country’s position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said on Thursday.

CII President Rajiv Memani said that at a time when global economic and political volatility is at its highest in over two decades, India stands out as a bright spot in an increasingly fractured global economy.

Speaking at a CII event in the national capital, Memani said competitiveness is India’s passport to prosperity.

"But it must be earned through reform, through innovation, and through trust. CII remains committed to working alongside the government, industry, and citizens to accelerate India’s rise as a confident, competitive, and globally connected economy," he said, adding that India’s internal momentum is strong enough to withstand external shocks.

India Inc has shown remarkable financial strength over the last five years, with corporate profits growing nearly three times faster than the country's GDP between FY20 and FY25, a new report said on Thursday.

The profit-to-GDP ratio has risen significantly to 6.9 per cent -- reflecting strong earnings performance despite economic challenges, according to the data compiled by Ionic Wealth (Angel One).

The report, titled ‘India Inc. FY25: Decoding Earnings Trends & Path Ahead’, highlights that FY25 was a resilient year for Indian companies.

Revenue of Nifty 500 firms grew by 6.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY), while EBITDA rose by 10.4 per cent and profit after tax (PAT) increased by 5.6 per cent.

Notably, mid-cap and small-cap companies outshined large-cap firms in terms of profit growth, recording 22 per cent and 17 per cent PAT growth respectively, compared to just 3 per cent for large caps.