1. Devyani International–Sapphire Foods Merger Creates India’s Largest QSR Platform:
The merger of Devyani International and Sapphire Foods not only consolidates the fast foods business in India, but also creates the largest food & beverages (F&B) outfit. The merged entity will have combined turnover of more than ₹8,000 crore. The merged company will also invest in addressing gaps in growth strategy, like marketing and technology. The entire transaction will be by way of a stock swap, with no cash transaction involved. The merger will bring celebrated fast-food franchises like Pizza Hut, Yum Brands, KFC, and Taco Bell under one roof.
2. FPIs Record Massive Selling in Indian IT and BFSI Stocks in 2025:
FPIs were heavy net sellers to the tune of $2.49 billion in December 2025, with bulk of the selling happening in BFSI and IT. What is more relevant is that FPIs were net sellers to the tune of $8.5 billion in technology stocks during the year 2025. This was largely triggered by the H1-B visa curbs and fears of slowdown in tech spending amidst a slowdown in the US. This marks the highest annual sell-off by FPIs in IT stocks. Interestingly, FPIs have been net sellers in Indian IT in 8 out of the last 11 years. Overall net FPI equity selling in 2025 was $18.8 billion.
Mutual Fund Investor Additions Nearly Halve Amid Market Volatility:
In what could be a disconcerting piece of data, the new investor additions for the mutual fund industry nearly halved in 2025. Even the NFOs in 2025 at ₹63,600 crore were sharply lower than ₹1,18,000 crore in 2024. The fall was largely on weak demand for sector and thematic funds. In 2024, mutual funds added 1.06 crore new investors, but in 2025 that fell to just around 60 lakhs. Volatility in markets and subdued returns on equities resulted in lower investor interest. While gross SIPs were still robust, lumpsum flows really faltered in 2025.
Rural Demand Drives Sharp Growth in Passenger Vehicle Sales After GST Cut:
Passenger vehicle (PV) sales in December 2025 (as per FADA data) grew by 27% yoy. What is more interesting is that this growth thrust has come largely from rural demand. Total of 3,79,671 PV units were sold in December 2025, compared to 2,99,799 units in December 2024. For calendar 2025, the PV sales were up 9.7% yoy at 44.80 lakh units. While urban sales of PVs grew by 8.1%, rural sales grew by a whopping 12.3%. The big trigger for the surge in PV sales was the sharp cut in GST rates from 28% to 18%, just ahead of the festive season in 2025.
SBI Mutual Fund IPO Likely in 2026: Valuation, Stake Sale, and Key Details:
SBI Mutual Fund may be sprucing itself for an early 2026 listing on the bourses, according to reports. It will be an offer for sale in which SBI and Amundi will sell a combined stake of $13,000 crore. It will be the biggest AMC IPO and with all other major AMCs listed, it was only logical that the large AMC also got listed. It has appointed Kotak, Axis, SBI Caps, I-Sec, JM, and Citi as the lead managers to the issue. The IPO is likely to value the company overall at around ₹1,30,000 crore. Currently, SBI holds 61.9% stake in SBI MF, while Amundi holds 36.4%.
Why Tata Steel Outperformed Other Tata Group Stocks in 2025:
In a year when most Tata stocks were lacklustre, the one stock that surprisingly stood out was Tata Steel. Of course, it had the benefit of a massive rally in metal prices and encouraging noises coming from China. Big losers in the Tata group in terms of market cap included TCS, Trent, Tata Motors, and India Hotels. In the entire Tata group only Tata Steel and Tata Consumer Products closed the year with gains of around 30.4% for the year. Tata Steel got a boost from improving cash flows, deleveraging and higher earnings outlook; despite problems in Europe.
SEBI Proposes 30-Day Data Lag to Curb Finfluencer Misuse:
After the Avadhut Sathe scam, where education was used as a front for giving trading calls, SEBI plans to change the rules of the game. SEBI has proposed a uniform time lag of 30 days for use of price data for education purpose. That means; you can no longer get live data for education, which would take away the charm for finfluencers like Avadhut Sathe. This would keep the education content relevant, at the same time avoid misuse by finfluencers. The last word is yet to be said on the Avadhut Sathe scam, but clearly the SEBI does not want to take chances.
Reliance Industries Suffers Worst Single-Day Market Cap Loss Since 2024:
In what was the sharpest single-day fall in the stock of Reliance Industries, more than ₹1 trillion of market cap was wiped out in a day on 06-Jan. This was the worst single-day fall in Reliance stock since June 2024. The trigger for the crash was a Bloomberg report, which claimed that 3 vessels carrying Russian crude oil were headed towards the Reliance Jamnagar refinery. This is contrary to what Reliance has been claiming in recent days about cutting down on Russian crude. However, the Reliance group has denied these reports by Bloomberg as being totally baseless.
