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Mumbai: India's equity indices eked out gains on Friday after early losses as the optimism around the Reserve Bank of India's dovish policy stance fizzled out and trading turned stock-specific.The NSE Nifty closed at 24,894.25, up 0.2% or 57.95 points, while the BSE Sensex ended 0.3% higher at 81,207.17, a gain of 223.86 points. "Although the market advanced in the last two sessions, it is expected to be a pullback move rather than a reversal," said Bhavik Joshi, Business Head at INVasset PMS. "Stock-specific rallies are becoming common in the current set up as investors chase momentum while the indices remain flat." Both indices gained nearly 1% in this truncated trading week after declining 2.7% last week. Financial markets were shut for trading on Thursday for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra. 124300966Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea gained 2.7% on Friday, while Japan and Taiwan rose 1.9% and 1.5% respectively. China and Indonesia advanced around 0.5% each. Hong Kong moved 0.5% lower.At home, the Nifty Midcap 150 and Smallcap 250 index moved 0.9% higher on Friday. Out of the 4,339 shares traded on the BSE, 2,636 advanced and 1,568 declined. Over the past week, the midcap and smallcap indices gained around 2% each.The Nifty Metal index rose 1.8% while the PSU Bank and consumer durables indices moved over 1% higher on Friday.Joshi said that metals and PSU Bank indices are close to record highs of October last year and both have been underperformers in the last few months. "Since metals are priced in dollar terms, the fall in the dollar as it loses value is supportive for metal companies," said Joshi. "The government announcement of the merger of banks in the PSU space is a tailwind for that sector.""Any dips towards the support zone of 24,400-24,600 can be used as a buying opportunity and the index might face a hurdle at 25,000 levels in the near term," said Ruchit Jain, Head Technical Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Gold failed to glitter this Dussehra as sharply higher prices deterred many consumers, eroding sales by a quarter to 18 tonnes from last year, according to industry body India Bullion & Jewellers Association (IBJA).By value, sales of the yellow metal however climbed by 30-35% consequent to the prevailing high prices. The retail price of gold on Dussehra this year, which was celebrated on Thursday, was Rs 1.16 lakh per 10 gm, a 48% jump from Rs 78,000 per 10 gm on Dussehra 2024. Consumers need to pay goods and services tax (GST) of 3% in addition to the bullion price. A making charge of 15-30% is also levied by jewellers depending on the jewellery design.“Last year Dussehra was a better one as the volume of gold sold was 24 tonnes. This year, the prices have remained at `1.16 lakh per 10 gm on Dussehra, which has dented the demand,” said Surendra Mehta, national secretary of IBJA. 124297624Exchange of Old Gold Rampant“However, consumers have started buying gold as they feel that prices might not fall from this level any soon. Consumers are placing orders for the upcoming Dhanteras, Diwali and wedding season,” he said. Many Indians prefer to buy gold on Dussehra as it is believed that the precious metal brings good luck, success, and prosperity for the entire year. On Friday, gold was trading at Rs 1,16,883 per 10 gm at the retail end, excluding GST.Demand for gold and silver coins have picked up well this Dussehra as many are buying them as an investment tool. Jewellers said gold coins of 5 gm denomination are selling more while silver coins of 20 gm are flying off the shelves. “Investment demand for gold and silver bars remains robust, and customers are making purchases despite price movements. Bullion continues to do well, while bangles, necklaces, and diamond jewellery are showing encouraging momentum,’ said Saurabh Gadgil, managing director of Pune-based PNG Jewellers. He said bookings in lightweight jewellery are encouraging, while exchange of old gold is continuing to sustain demand, contributing nearly 50-55% of sales.The trend of exchanging old gold has accelerated across the country as high bullion prices are keeping consumers away from making fresh purchases. “They are keen to buy 5 or 7 gm of gold in addition to their old gold and get jewellery of their own design,” said Mehta, who is based in Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar, a major gold trading hub.Vikas Kataria, promoter of Madhya Pradesh-based jeweller D.P. Abhushan, however, noted encouraging demand across central India. “Wedding jewellery from diamonds to lightweight and polki designs is also performing well, setting a very positive tone for the festive season. Despite higher gold prices, sentiment remains strong,” he said.In South India, jewellers reported lower sales of gold during the ongoing festive season. Varghese Alukkas, MD of Jos Alukkas, said many consumers are resorting to buying gold bars to convert them into jewellery later for the upcoming wedding season. Gold exchange has also picked up. “Gold bars of 10 gm to 20 gm are selling more. We are also trying to push diamond jewellery in 18 karat, 14 karat and 9 karat, but customers are leaning more towards gold jewellery. Old gold exchange has gone up to 55-60% this Dussehra,” said Alukkas. Jos Alukkas has 63 stores spread over five states in South India.

Homegrown direct-to-consumer (D2C) beauty and personal care brands are continuing to attract investors despite the expanding footprint of global brands in the domestic market.The total funding raised by 20 leading D2C brands including Sugar Cosmetics, Innovist, Fae Beauty and Renee Cosmetics increased 7% from a year earlier to $63.1 million (about ₹560 crore) during January to September 2025, per data from business intelligence firm Tracxn. Notably, total funding raised by these brands so far this year marks a nearly threefold surge from $21.6 million in 2020."On an average, investing in the beauty category, given its high margins and capital efficiency, can return 10 to 25 times the investment. You can see that level of return with the investors behind Minimalist and Mamaearth," said Arjun Anand, managing director & head of Asia, Verlinvest, a Belgium-headquartered investment firm. "This is not the case with most other consumer categories. And this is being driven by consumption, premiumisation and democratisation," he said.124296720This year, RAS Luxury Skincare secured $5 million in funding led by Unilever Ventures while ayurvedic beauty brand Inde Wild, too, raised a similar amount in a seed extension round, again led by Unilever Ventures to support its US expansion through Sephora.In August, Renee Cosmetics raised $5.8 million in a Series C round from Playbook, Midas Partners and a few other investors. Foxtale raised $30 million in a Series C round from Panthera, Kose Corporation and a few others. Innovist, the parent of brands such as Bare Anatomy, Chemist At Play and Sunscoop, raised $16 million from ICICI Venture and Mirabilis Investment Trust.Neha Singh, co-founder at Tracxn said beauty brands in India are raising funds to accelerate growth, enhance product offerings and expand their market presence.India's beauty and personal care market, estimated at $24 billion in FY25, is expected to touch $40-45 billion by FY30. Industry executives say online contribution for the category climbed to nearly 17% in 2024 from 13% in 2023.Malini Adupureddy, founder and CEO, Deconstruct Skincare, said D2C brands are benefiting from the tailwinds of an ecommerce boom in tier-2 and -3 markets that is opening up a completely new consumer base.Swedish brand H&M recently entered the beauty segment in India while pop icon Rihanna launched her brand Fenty in partnership with Reliance-owned Tira. Multiple global brands such as MAC, Huda, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Smashbox and Charlotte Tilbury also entered this highly cluttered market.Korean brands like Innisfree, COSRX and Beauty of Joseon, too, are trying to win over Indian consumers though with premium pricing, thanks to the Hallyu wave and rise of Korean influence on OTT platforms, food and beauty. In contrast, the D2C Indian brands are playing the pricing game and riding on the quick commerce boom.Siddharth Sanghvi, head-business and finance, Renee Cosmetics, said established brands have a stronger hold on the offline market but the online market is dominated by new-age domestic brands.This lure of cracking online pushed Hindustan Unilever (HUL) to acquire 90.5% of Minimalist, a homegrown skin care brand, for ₹2,706 crore while Marico bought Beardo for nearly ₹400 crore and Emami acquired The Man Company.Sanghvi said any major investment firm's decision to invest hinges on a profitable exit option. "For these companies, the gap that the larger companies like the HULs or any other house of brands had was the lack of online presence, which is why we are seeing acquisitions of the new age brands," he said.Anand at Verlinvest said established companies such as HUL are premiumising, not by global but by Indian standards, and hence Minimalist can be part of that premiumisation process. "Earlier no one was supplying those premium products, and a plethora of startups are now doing exactly that, and in many niches being created," he said.