Trade dominated the business week, and the numbers told the story. The government notified the customs rules that switch on the India–UK free-trade pact on July 15 — duty-free access for 99% of Indian exports — while negotiators called an interim India–US deal “very, very close” ahead of a July 24 tariff deadline, the opening move toward the $500 billion “Mission 500” target.
Equities stayed firm on the back of it. The Sensex held above 77,500 and the Nifty near 24,176, with Nifty IT posting its best single session in 14 months as investors rotated back into a sector leveraged to global tech demand and the coming US trade signal. Domestic institutional flows again absorbed foreign selling.
On the capital-formation side, the week reinforced a multi-year investment thesis: a record $170 billion energy-investment year, an $11 billion Tata–ASML semiconductor commitment, and Budget capex of ₹12.22 lakh crore anchoring demand for cement, steel and capital goods. The macro frame held at 7.8% growth with inflation near 3.4%.
Markets & Numbers of the Week
