Newsletter
Missiles get fiercer, HCLTech beats estimates, and billion-dollar clean energy deal.
🗓️ Morning, folks! ☀️
Markets swung between gains and losses before IT stocks helped the indices finish in the green.
TCS, HCLTech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Wipro were among the top six gainers on the Nifty.
Nifty Bank also ended in the green, supported by gains in Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank.
Auto stocks delivered a mixed performance, with Bajaj Auto and Mahindra & Mahindra gaining, while Maruti Suzuki ended lower.
💡 Spotlight: Private firms to enter missile manufacturing? 🚀
India could soon change who gets to manufacture some of its most important missiles.
The government is reportedly preparing to let private companies produce the Astra Mark 2, an air-to-air missile with a range of 180-200 km.
And this may just be the beginning. Other missile programmes, including Pralay, could also be opened to private manufacturers.
Until now, missile production has largely been handled by state-owned Bharat Dynamics (BDL). Its shares fell 3% after reports of the policy change, as investors anticipated fresh competition.
Demand is rising faster than BDL can meet. India needs more missiles for its armed forces, while countries like Indonesia are also interested in buying them.
The move could bring Adani Defence, Bharat Forge, Tata, Mahindra and ICOMM into the race for large missile contracts.
Let’s hit it! 💪🏻
1 Big thing: India’s inflation rises above RBI’s target 📈
So, Filter Coffee brings you inflation data every month. Before we dive into the numbers, here's why it matters.
Inflation tells us how fast the prices of everyday things like food, rent and transport are rising. It affects your monthly budget and also influences whether the RBI cuts or raises interest rates.
What’s going on: India’s retail inflation rose to 4.38% in June, up from 3.93% in May.
More importantly, it crossed the RBI’s 4% target for the first time in 18 months. The reading also came in higher than what economists were expecting.
What’s pushing prices up: the biggest culprit was food inflation, which climbed to 5.32%.
Prices of vegetables, cereals and other food items remained elevated, while eating out also became more expensive. Restaurant and accommodation inflation jumped to 6.91%, and prices of clothing and footwear also inched higher.
Inflation picked up in both rural and urban India, showing that price pressures are becoming more broad-based.
A few bright spots: inflation eased slightly in housing and healthcare, while price increases in personal care products also moderated. Even though gold prices remained high, silver jewellery continued to see the sharpest price rise among major items.
Zoom out: now that inflation has moved above that mark, the central bank is likely to remain cautious about cutting interest rates.
Even so, RBI is still widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting scheduled for August 3-5.
2. Why did TCS jump 6% on Monday? 🚀
TCS shares climbed nearly 6% after it bagged a multi-million-dollar deal from Swiss engineering and automation company ABB.
Here’s the deal: TCS will manage the company’s entire global computer network.
Think of it as upgrading ABB’s digital highways. Today, different offices and factories across the world use multiple network systems. TCS will bring all of them onto one centrally managed platform, making the network faster, more secure and easier to manage.
The company will monitor ABB’s global network 24x7, use AI to detect problems before they happen and improve cybersecurity.
The project also includes setting up a global network operations centre, which will act like a control room, constantly keeping an eye on ABB’s worldwide digital infrastructure.
Zoom out: companies like Infosys, HCLTech, Accenture and IBM have won similar deals to manage the global digital infrastructure of large multinational companies.
ABB operates in more than 100 countries, and after working with TCS for over 20 years, it has now trusted the Indian IT giant to run its entire global network.
While we are on AI 🤖,
LTM has partnered with Anthropic to bring its Claude family of artificial intelligence (AI) models to enterprise clients.
What’s going on: LTM will integrate Claude into its AI platform, BlueVerse, to help businesses write software faster, upgrade old applications and automate repetitive work.
The partnership will initially focus on industries like banking, manufacturing, consumer businesses and technology.
3. Aditya Birla seals $1.8 billion clean energy deal 🌱
Aditya Birla Renewables is buying Shell-backed Sprng Energy in a landmark renewable energy acquisition.
The deal is valued at ₹17,200 crore (around $1.8 billion), making it one of the largest transactions the sector has seen in India.
The deets: the Aditya Birla Group will acquire 100% of Sprng Energy from global energy giant Shell. The acquisition includes 5 GW of renewable energy capacity, of which 3.3 GW is already operational, while the rest is under construction.
The why: the group has big clean energy ambitions. With Sprng Energy under its belt, it expects to scale its renewable energy portfolio to more than 20 GW over the next few years. It also strengthens its presence in supplying green power to industries and large electricity distribution companies.
So why is Shell selling: Shell bought Sprng Energy from private equity firm Actis for around $1.5 billion in 2023 and expanded the business over the last three years.
Now, the oil major appears to be monetising its investment, a common strategy where global companies sell mature assets and redeploy capital into newer opportunities.
Worth noting: this wasn’t a straightforward sale. Several heavyweight investors, including KKR, NIIF and Sembcorp, were in the race to buy Sprng Energy.
While we are on acquisitions 🤝,
Tata Capital is acquiring an 88.6% stake in Kerala-based NBFC Yogakshemam Loans (Yogloans).
The deal values the company at up to ₹318 crore, and Tata Capital will also invest around ₹93 crore in fresh capital to help expand the business.
It gives Tata Capital a stronger foothold in the booming gold loan market, a segment that’s expected to grow 12-15% every year over the next four to five years.
4. Lux Industries is building one of Asia’s largest garment hubs 💸
Lux Industries will invest ₹600 crore to expand its West Bengal factory. The expansion will boost production capacity and create what the company says will become one of Asia's largest garment manufacturing hubs.
The maker of Lux Cozi, Lyra, ONN and Lux Venus is one of India’s largest innerwear and apparel manufacturers.
The plan: the company will expand its existing 8 lakh sq. ft. Dankuni factory by another 12 lakh sq. ft., creating a 20 lakh sq. ft. manufacturing campus.
It will be funded through a mix of internal accruals and borrowings, with the company expecting to recover the investment within five years.
The bigger picture: Dankuni is emerging as a major manufacturing and logistics hub thanks to its excellent connectivity and proximity to Kolkata.
With India’s textile market projected to grow from $174 billion to $350 billion by 2030, investments like this position Lux to tap into rising domestic demand and export opportunities.
5. Is India’s credit card boom slowing? 🤔
Despite 119 million active credit cards, only one in four credit-active Indians owns one.
That’s far lower than countries like Hong Kong (98%), Canada (97%) and the US (81%). The gap reflects India’s preference for debit cards, UPI and cash, along with stricter eligibility and lower credit awareness.
As incomes rise and formal credit expands, credit card adoption still has significant room to grow.
6. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
What went up ⬆️
🚀 Just Dial shares surged 20% after Q1 profit jumped 66% sequentially and the company announced a new CEO and CFO.
🔼 Avantel shares jumped nearly 2% after the company posted 36% revenue growth and a 67% surge in June-quarter net profit.
⚡️ Fino Payments Bank shares jumped 19% after strong June business growth, driven by higher loan disbursals and new account additions.
📈 HEG shares rose 3% after announcing a demerger to separate its graphite electrode and clean energy businesses into independent companies.
⭐️ Kalyan Jewellers shares jumped 7%, extending their winning streak as investors remained optimistic about the company’s future growth.
What went down ⬇️
🛒 DMart shares fell 2% after weak Q1 numbers, as rising quick commerce competition and slower store sales weighed on investor sentiment.
🔻 Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance shares slipped 2% each as declining gold prices weighed on gold loan lenders.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
🌍 Trade gap: India’s trade deficit has widened to $30.43 billion in June as exports declined more sharply than imports, reflecting weaker external demand.
💻 Q1 results: HCLTech reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, retained its FY27 guidance, and saw its workforce decline by 3,300 employees during the quarter.
🚌 EV partnership: JBM Electric Vehicles signed a deal with Drivn to supply 500 electric luxury buses.
💼 Acquisition talks: ITC Infotech has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire a majority stake in Happiest Minds, with the deal expected to begin by buying the promoter’s stake followed by an open offer.
❌ Job cuts: HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank cut over 7,700 jobs in FY26 as automation reshaped hiring despite business growth.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
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