Newsletter
A day of acquisitions, Microsoft India shines in FY25, and India and the US had quite a day.
🗓 Morning, folks and Happy Tuesday! ☀️
The markets started the week with a burst of energy, stretching their winning streak to six days in a row.
Buyers were out in full force, especially in financials, midcaps and a few auto names. Confidence stayed high thanks to steady economic signals and a strong finish to the Q2 results season.
Auto, banking, realty and PSU bank stocks all inched up 0.5-1%.
💡 Spotlight: India US trade talks pick up steam ♨️
India and the US are making steady progress in their trade talks, actively addressing concerns over tariffs and market access.
India has agreed to include a portion of the Bilateral Trade Agreement in the negotiations. Teams on both sides remain engaged, with an announcement expected once there is mutual agreement.
Putting spotlight on India’s macro data,
India’s trade deficit just hit a new record, widening to $41.6 billion in October from $32.1 billion in September.
The big driver: a surge in gold and silver imports as festive demand, pent-up buying and industrial needs sent inflows soaring.
Gold imports rocketed to $14.7 billion, while silver imports jumped to $2.72 billion.
The silver lining? Exports held firm despite global uncertainty. From April to October, overall exports were up 4.84%, powered by steady merchandise demand and nearly double-digit growth in services.
Let’s hit it!
1 Big Thing: India brings US LPG home for the first time 🇺🇸
Indian public sector companies have signed a one-year agreement to import LPG from the United States for the first time.
What’s brewing: the deal covers about 2.2 million tonnes of LPG every year, which is nearly 10% of all the LPG India normally imports in a year.
India is one of the world’s biggest users of LPG, mainly for cooking. But we produce only around 35% of what we need. The remaining 65% has to be imported, which makes India heavily dependent on other countries for its cooking gas supply.
What this means for consumers: this gives India an additional source of LPG, allowing the government to protect households from sudden spikes in global energy prices.
Even though international prices jumped nearly 60% in the past year, India has still managed to keep domestic LPG cylinder rates stable.
While shipping LPG from the US is more expensive, this agreement between Indian oil companies and American suppliers also signals a positive shift in bilateral ties.
2. JSW Infra to buy 51% stake in Oman port project 🤝
JSW Infrastructure has signed agreements to acquire a 51% stake in Oman’s South Minerals Port Company SAOC.
The company is a newly formed special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up to develop and operate port facilities in Oman.
What’s happening: JSW will make this purchase through its subsidiary, JSW Overseas FZE. The company has teamed up with Minerals Development Oman (MDO) and the port authority to join the project.
The Port SPV will build, own and run a large port with a capacity of 27 million tonnes per year in Oman’s Dhofar region.
The entire project will cost $419 million and will mainly ship out minerals like limestone, gypsum and dolomite.
Why it matters: this investment helps JSW move toward its goal of increasing its cargo-handling capacity to 400 million tonnes a year by 2030, up from 177 million tonnes today.
Why Oman: it is located right along major global shipping routes, and its modern logistics and closeness to South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Africa make it a strong location for exporting minerals.
Oman also has large reserves of these minerals, which India needs for industries like steel and cement. The port will act as a key outlet for minerals from MDO’s mines, helping speed up transportation, cut costs and improve regional trade links.
3. Microsoft India fires up FY25 numbers 🔥
Microsoft’s India business reported its FY25 numbers, with profits and revenue soaring to new highs.
By the numbers:
- Net profit: up 38.66% YoY at ₹1,245.2 crore
- Revenue: up 28% YoY at ₹29,303 crore
The how: the surge was driven by a sharp rise in Azure consumption and strong enterprise cloud migration.
It was further boosted by rapid adoption of Microsoft’s AI tools, including Copilot and automation solutions across banking, retail, manufacturing and public sector clients.
Looking ahead: the tech giant said it will start processing Microsoft 365 Copilot data within each country instead of sending it abroad.
It will roll this out in 15 countries, starting with India, Japan, Australia and the UK by the end of 2025. This move is meant to build trust and win more customers by keeping their data local and more secure.
This is especially useful for governments and industries like banking and healthcare, which need strict control over where their data and AI systems are stored and processed.
4. Hygenco to offload 49% of its stake to key investors 🌳
Hygenco Green Energies is on its way to onboard a new set of investors including Germany’s Siemens AG, Singapore-based Fullerton Fund Management and International Finance Corporation by selling 49% of its stake.
Hygenco develops and operates green hydrogen and green ammonia production facilities. The company also provides these sustainable industrial gases to sectors like steel, fertilisers, through a “gas-as-a-service” model.
The deets: Hygenco plans to raise around $125 million and reach a valuation of $250 million. IFC is likely to invest about $50 million in equity, while Siemens AG and Fullerton Fund Management will jointly contribute the remaining $75 million.
Looking ahead: the company plans to deploy about $2.5 billion over the next three years to build green hydrogen facilities across India. This will help it move toward its goal of setting up 10 GW of production and distribution capacity by 2030.
Zoom out: the move also aligns with India’s goal of scaling green hydrogen production to 5 million metric tonnes by 2030.
For investors such as IFC, Siemens, and Fullerton, the deal offers a chance to deepen their presence in India’s fast-growing renewable energy sector, projected to grow at 8.6% and touch $47.2 billion by 2032.
5. IHCL buys a majority stake in Atmantan for ₹240 crore 💸
Taj parent, India Hotel Company bought a 51% stake in wellness brand Atmantan for ₹240 crore.
Atmantan is a wellness resort near Pune that offers holistic health and well-being programmes.
The deets: this is the third deal in IHCL’s recent domestic acquisition spree. The move expands the hotel group’s portfolio into the wellness space, a fast-growing trend in tourism, one IHCL is now well-positioned to capitalise on.
Big picture: India’s wellness tourism market is growing at the rate of 6.4%, a trend largely driven by increased health-consciousness, influencer marketing, and widespread corporate adoption.
IHCL can bring its decades-long hospitality experience to push Atmantan’s offerings to a wider audience base and help expand the brand internationally.
6. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
1. ideaForge bags major Army deal worth over ₹100 crore 🪖
Drone maker ideaForge Technology has secured orders worth over ₹100 crore from the Indian Army. The stock hit 10% intraday on the back of the order win.
The deets: the company has received a big order of about ₹75 crore from the Indian Army for its new ZOLT drone.
For context, ZOLT is a next-gen drone that can fly long distances, gather surveillance information, and carry special equipment when needed.
ideaForge also got another order worth ₹30 crore for its SWITCH V2 drone. It is already used by the Army, tested in real missions.
What it means for the sector: ideaForge continues to face pressure as the company remained loss-making for the fifth straight quarter in Q2, although losses did narrow compared to the previous quarter.
Despite near-term weakness, the broader drone industry outlook remains strong. India’s drone sector could boost the country’s manufacturing potential to $23 billion by 2030.
2. IRB Infrastructure bags ₹9,240 crore highway project from NHAI 💥
IRB Infrastructure Developers surged nearly 4% after its private InvIT, IRB Infrastructure Trust won a ₹9,240 crore project from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
IRB Infrastructure Developers is an integrated multi-national transport infrastructure developer in roads and highways segment.
A private InvIT is a fund created to own and operate infrastructure projects, letting investors earn income from assets like toll roads.
What’s the deal: the project covers a long 366-km stretch of highways in Uttar Pradesh, including parts of the Lucknow-Ayodhya-Gorakhpur and Lucknow-Varanasi routes.
The company will handle toll collection, day-to-day operation, and maintenance of these highway sections for the next 20 years, after which the roads will be handed back to the government.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
⚙️ PLI boost: Government approved 17 electronics projects worth ₹7,172 crore, including optical transceivers, high-layer PCBs, and quartz crystal units.
📈 Groww surge: Groww’s market cap crossed ₹1 lakh crore as the stock jumped 64% from its IPO price after debuting at a 12% premium.
💊 Green signal: Alembic Pharma shares rose after it received USFDA approval for its generic Diltiazem tablets used to treat chronic and spasmodic angina.
🚀 D-street ready: AceVector, parent of Snapdeal and Unicommerce, has received SEBI approval for its IPO after confidentially filing its draft prospectus in July 2025.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
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