Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Interim Budget presentation on February 1, showcased a promising macroeconomic picture for India. The spotlight on key indicators, including the fiscal deficit returning to a positive trajectory, an emphasis on capital expenditure (capex), and a significant uptick in corporate profits, signals a path for the nation's financial outlook.

Stockology is a weekly column by futurologist Mahesh Gowande. He is the founder and director of Ayan Analytics which has developed ZodiacAnalyst. It is a research software, with time and price charting tools, and it is exclusively used along with technical support. Last week, equity markets witnessed a volatile price movement in many stocks. As expected, a few stocks got hammered.

Indian headline indices were trading flat in the opening trade on Monday, dragged down by losses in bank and financial stocks. While the S&P BSE Sensex was at 72,058.85, down 27 points or 0.04%, the broader Nifty stood at 21,856, up 3 points or 0.01%.The market breadth was neutral as 25 stocks traded in the green, 23 in the red and other two remained unchanged in the Nifty50 pack.

Bombay High Court allows redevelopment of collapsed 7-story building in Kherwadi, Bandra (E) after 25 years. Appoints new developer as previous attempts failed. 33-42 deaths reported in 1998 collapse. Property abandoned by developer AA Estate Pvt Ltd. Opposition from insolvency proceedings is overruled. BMC and Mhada must process development plan without NOC from AA Estate.

The recent budget speech by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has highlighted the importance of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy for the urban development of Noida and Ghaziabad. This policy encourages the development of properties along mass transit systems, such as metro and bus routes, within a specified distance. This is expected to bring about rapid transformation in these cities.

Indian markets were rangebound, but experts expect a rally before the general elections in 2024. The Nifty50 rose by 20% and hit a record high before the budget. Experts suggest buying on dips as the momentum is likely to continue. In past elections, Nifty has bottomed out in Feb-March and seen a 14% rally towards the results. ICICIdirect predicts a target of 23,400 for Nifty by June 2024.

Equitas Small Finance Bank is aiming for a 25 percent credit growth in the upcoming quarters, with potential for long-term growth due to strong demand in key segments. The bank's net interest margin has dropped due to high interest rates, but it projects a NIM of 8.5% for the full year. The bank's CD ratio is at a comfortable level of 91.5%, and it experienced growth in small business.

The government sees the average monthly Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rising to Rs 1.8 lakh crore-1.85 lakh crore in 2024-25, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra has said. "So, an increase of about 11.6 percent is what we are projecting," Malhotra told Moneycontrol in an interview. Monthly GST collections have averaged Rs 1.67 lakh crore so far in 2023-24.

Shares of Jio Financial Services on Monday rallied 4% to the day's high at Rs 263.30 on BSE after a newspaper report said crisis-ridden One 97 Communications is in talks with Jio Financial Services and HDFC Bank to sell its wallet business.Quoting senior fintech and banking sector senior executives with knowledge of the matter.

Brokerages remain optimistic about the State Bank of India (SBI) stock, despite weak Q3 results. SBI saw a decline in net profit and NII, but managed to sustain growth momentum and improve loan growth. Jefferies maintains a Buy call, while Motilal Oswal has a BUY rating with a target price of INR 800. JM Financials projects a RoA of 0.94% and RoE of 16% for FY26E and holds.

The stock of Harshdeep Hortico made an impressive debut, listing at a 55 percent premium over the IPO price, on February 5. The stock opened at Rs 70 against an issue price of Rs 45 on the BSE SME platform. Ahead of the listing, Harshdeep Hortico shares were trading at a 70 percent premium in the grey market, which is an unofficial ecosystem where shares start trading before the allotment.

We are in a bull market. The Nifty50 has tripled from the March 2020 Covid low of 7511 giving excellent returns to investors. After setting new records in early 2024, the market has turned highly volatile.More volatility is in store since there are inherent fundamental strengths that can support the market along with potential negative triggers that can pull the market sharply down.

Analysts predict a robust IPO market in the current financial year and the next, with over Rs 72,000 crore in securities headed for the primary market. 25 companies have received SEBI's approval to raise about Rs 27,190 crore, and another 41 are waiting for a nod to raise a total of Rs 45,576 crore. The upcoming general elections are expected to be a major trigger for both primary and secondary.

Sebi proposed revisions to current nomination processes for demat accounts and mutual funds in order to streamline the process of transmission of assets to surviving family members after an investor's death. The consultation paper suggests doing away with the requirement of mandatory nomination for joint holdings, allows specifying successive nominees, and gives an option for temporary/permanent.

Chinese property developers Sunac China and CIFI Holdings have had some of their projects recommended by local governments for financing support, along with other defaulted developers. This comes amid a "project whitelist" mechanism aimed at injecting liquidity into the struggling real estate sector. While this may ease cashflow pressure for these developers, banks' reluctance to lend remains.