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The suits are finally joining the party at the homes of their employees this festive season. Companies are easing protocol, offering greater flexibility and time off to cover employees under festival stress. Some firms are celebrating Diwali with the employees reaching office fighting traffic choked by festive shoppers in the national capital and other metros.RPG is following a 50% work-from-home policy. Its employees can use flexibility to work from home or any location of their choice and flexible working hours coordinated with their respective managers as and when needed, including during the festive season. For those reaching their offices, RPG is encouraging its employees to take the recently inaugurated metro line in Mumbai that is close to its office. This is to prevent them from getting stuck in traffic snarls, said the company spokesperson. "The Worli metro station in the Aqua line (Metro line 3), which became fully operational a few weeks ago, is just about 500 metres from our head office (Mumbai)," said the RPG spokesperson. Like other organisations, Deloitte also has optional days off. In some locations, a certain day next week is an optional day off for Deloitte employees. "Since most colleagues availed this option, we decided to keep those offices closed and have WFH for those who haven't taken leave," Deepti Sagar, chief people and experience officer, Deloitte India.. "Our continuing hybrid working pattern benefits us with each team having the discretion to decide whether WFH will work better due to festive season traffic or any other circumstances," said Sagar. Embassy Group, a real estate developer, is giving a Diwali break from 18th to 26th October, while SgurrEnergy, a renewable energy engineering and consulting firm, is also offering a 9-day Diwali break to all 200-plus employees across India. In addition to the break, Embassy is also organising festive luncheons, personalised gifts, and bonuses, its spokesperson told ET.While for some firms, bonuses are further increasing the festive cheer. "Diwali bonuses in India are largely on track this year, especially in the manufacturing sector, including industrial goods, automotive, and consumer durables," said Rajul Mathur, consulting leader, Work and Rewards, WTW India. According to Mathur, some companies, particularly in South India, have already paid their Diwali bonuses before the festival, while the automotive sector is expecting higher payout numbers due to strong sales performance.Most companies in the manufacturing space, especially industrial goods, automotive and consumer durables are on track for Diwali bonus, said experts.Higher Payouts at Car DealershipsThe overarching fact is that car bookings and consequent sales have seen multi-fold jump post GST revisions, and both wholesale and retail sales are beating expectations, said Yagesh Singhania, director, Deloitte. “For the blue-collar workforce, there is already a trend of ex gratia bonus for the year being paid during the Diwali month in addition to Diwali gifts, etc. This will continue this year.”He also said almost all automotive OEM companies have paid the increments and bonuses for the previous fiscal year for their white-collar workforce. At the dealership level, there will be higher payouts for September end, October and November on account of larger bookings. “OEMs have already created multiple festival incentive plans to encourage dealerships to boost sales.”

JioStar is witnessing early signs of recovery in advertising spends, following recent changes in the goods and services tax (GST) regime, said its CEO for entertainment Kevin Vaz.The company reported a steady second quarter, supported by growth across both digital and linear businesses."Television entertainment advertising sales continue to face pressure, mainly because FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies have cut spending. However, with the GST changes, we are seeing green shoots, and we expect the coming quarter to be stronger," Vaz said during Reliance Industries' second-quarter earnings call. "Sequential comparisons may not be ideal since the previous quarter included the IPL (Indian Premier League), but despite that, we have delivered stable revenue growth."Industry executives expect festive season advertising expenditure to rise, with incremental spends of around ₹5,400 crore projected as GST rationalisation revives consumer demand in FMCG, durables and automobiles.For the quarter to September, JioStar reported revenue of ₹6,179 crore, with an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 28.1%. EBITDA stood at ₹1,738 crore, while profit after tax was ₹1,322 crore. Vaz attributed the performance to cost control and balanced contributions from subscription and advertising across television and digital.On the linear side, JioStar's entertainment channels increased their viewership share by 0.3 percentage points to 34.5%. "Our viewership is now close to the combined share of the next three networks," Vaz said.Linear television ad revenue grew in double digits quarter-on-quarter despite a subdued ad market. "We continue to push the linear business hard," Vaz said.JioStar maintained 400 million monthly active users on its digital platform, JioHotstar, during the quarter. "We have managed to convert cricket viewers into entertainment viewers," Vaz said. "Entertainment watch time grew 10% quarter-on-quarter, and digital ad sales showed strong momentum, led by connected TV, where revenue per user is much higher than on mobile."Vaz cited the platform's entertainment slate as a key driver of engagement. "What the IPL is to cricket, Bigg Boss is to entertainment," he said, adding that the reality show saw a 55% increase in watch time across multiple languages. Special Ops was the second most-watched series on the platform, behind Criminal Justice, and held the top spot for four consecutive weeks, he said.The company's long-format daily series model also delivered strong results. "Heartbeat, a Tamil show, ran for 100 episodes with daily drops, and we saw users coming back every day for 100 days. That is the kind of stickiness we want to replicate across markets," Vaz said.

With the government lowering goods and services tax (GST) on two-wheelers powered by engines up to 350cc to 18% from 28%, manufacturers are recalibrating product strategies to step up launches in the 300-350cc segment, said industry executives.Companies such as Hero MotoCorp, Royal Enfield, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India and Bajaj Auto are all accelerating efforts to either enter into or expand their presence in this segment. "The next round of launches will aim for maximum performance within 350cc," said an executive at a leading motorcycle maker, who did not wish to be identified. "It's the sweet spot for both taxation and demand." 124676675 Two-wheelers above 350cc fall under the steep 40% tax bracket for 'luxury' items, following the revision by the GST Council last month, necessitating a strategic reset on the part of the manufacturers in a price-sensitive market like India.Bajaj Auto executive director Rakesh Sharma said, "The sub-350cc segment will clearly benefit more, and we'll look to strengthen our portfolio there. The industry has already passed on the GST rate cuts, which should lift overall performance."Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, which has had early success with its 350cc models, is doubling down on this range. "Our 350cc models have been well accepted by customers, reinforcing confidence in this segment," said Yogesh Mathur, director, sales and marketing. The company is also pushing for network expansion to tap into new markets.Meanwhile, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto have confirmed new launches in the 300-350cc category by early 2026. Even Royal Enfield, whose flagship models hover near the tax threshold, is reportedly tuning its future powertrains to stay within 350cc, without compromising on performance.Executives said that with pricing no longer the primary lever, manufacturers are digging deep into engineering. The goal is to deliver more performance, better refinement and premium features within the 350cc ceiling.Engineers are focusing on smarter electronic fuel mapping, lighter components and tighter combustion control to maximise torque and efficiency from smaller engines. "It's not downsizing," an industry insider said on condition of anonymity. "It's making 350cc the new benchmark for aspirational biking."This engineering push is also redefining expectations. Upcoming models are expected to include features once reserved for premium bikes: digital dashboards, traction control, Bluetooth connectivity and riding modes, all aimed at "premiumising" the mid-range segment.The impact on higher-displacement bikes has been swift. Models in the 400-650cc bracket, long considered aspirational for urban riders, are now seeing a decline in demand, especially outside major metros. The price hikes of ₹25,000-60,000 following the revision to GST slabs have made these offerings less accessible."It's impossible to offset a 22 percentage point tax handicap on bikes above 350cc through innovation or features alone," Sharma said.To be sure, this does not imply that the premium two-wheeler segment will collapse.

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India on Saturday said it expects to have record sales on Dhanteras clocking over 50,000 units, while rival Hyundai Motor India also posted over 20 per cent growth over last year at about 14,000 units. This year Dhanteras is spread over two days as it was in the last year between Saturday and Sunday. Although many customers hesitate to buy the metal on Saturday, Maruti Suzuki India is expecting to reach around 41,000 deliveries today, company Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Partho Banerjee told reporters in an interaction. "This is going to be the all-time high deliveries, which we have done during the period of any time. Moreover, we are expecting that there will be another 10,000 customers who have hesitated to take the delivery today, due to Saturday, they will be taking the delivery tomorrow," he noted. He further said,"We are expecting to cross even the 50,000 mark." The company's production team is also working even on holiday to meet Dhanteras demand, Banerjee said. The company's previous highest Dhanteras sales was last year when it clocked around 41,500 units, he added. Due to the "GST 2.0 magic" many of the customers are flocking to the showrooms, he said, adding in many of the places the company may not be in a position to give vehicles unless bookings and deliveries are not taken on time. Expressing similar views, Hyundai Motor India Ltd MD & CEO Designate Tarun Garg said,"We are witnessing strong customer demand, with deliveries expected to be around 14,000 units approximately, 20 per cent higher than last year. The positive momentum is driven by the festive spirit, a buoyant market environment and the encouraging impact of GST 2.0 reforms." He also noted that this year, Dhanteras deliveries are spread across multiple days because of it being a Saturday. When asked about the overall festive season sales starting from Navratri, Banerjee said for Maruti Suzuki the traction has been very good and the company has been "getting close to 14,000 bookings every day on average". Since September 18, when the company reduced prices, he said, "Almost 4.5 lakh bookings have come in one month and small car booking is almost touching one lakh. We have already touched close to 94,000 small cars." On the retail side, he said, "In this one month period it is close to 3.25 lakh units (for the company)." On the consumer electronics side, Panasonic Life Solutions Director and Head- Sales consumer division, Sandeep Sehgal said, "This Dhanteras, we are witnessing a strong customer turnout since morning, with robust demand across product categories." He further said, "Large screen TVs, particularly those of 55 inches and above, are leading the momentum, contributing to a 4K sellout growth of over 36 per cent from October 1 to 17. Overall, we anticipate around 30 per cent growth in both the TVs and RAC categories compared to last year's Dhanteras." Tanishq Senior Vice President Arun said, "We are seeing a healthy mix of purchases - from investment-driven buys above Rs 2 lakh to high demand for lightweight jewellery and gold coins around Dhanteras." This festive season has been uniformly strong across markets, with consistently encouraging responses from metros as well as Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, he added. Haier Appliances India also said the sell-out is good this Dhanteras, led by premium products such as large screen TV sets, side-by-side refrigerator and front-load washing machine. "We expect growth of more than 50 per cent," said Haier India President N S Satish. According to him, the growth is helped by the reduction in duty under the latest round of GST reforms in which the government has reduced duties on products such as air-conditioners, TV (32-inch and above screen size) and dishwashers.Besides, reduction on the duty of other daily essential goods has also indirectly put more money in the hands of customers.

The markets traded with a clear upward bias through the previous week and ended on a strong positive note. Nifty continued to march higher while posting gains for the third consecutive week. It oscillated in a wider intra-week range of 720.95 points as it traded between 25,060.55 and 25,781.50. However, even as the headline index gained ground, the market breadth remained relatively weak throughout the week—a key concern amid the rise. Meanwhile, India VIX spiked by 15.07% to 11.62, signalling a rise in near-term volatility expectations. Nifty ended the week with a net weekly gain of 424.50 points (+1.68%).The key highlight of the week was Nifty’s breakout above the symmetrical triangle pattern it had been coiling within for several months. This breakout came with a close near the upper Bollinger Band and has pulled the support levels significantly higher to the 25,300–25,400 zone. However, the rally has come on the back of weak market breadth, raising questions about the participation and sustainability of the move. 124666192Additionally, the sharp spike in India VIX further injects an element of caution as it reflects rising hedging activity. While the price structure has turned bullish post- breakout, the lack of strong internals and surge in volatility suggest the rally could be vulnerable if not supported by broader market strength.Given the technical breakout, the markets may look to start the coming week on a stable to positive note. However, traders must remain mindful of the week being a shortened one. Tuesday’s session will be limited to an hour-long Mahurat Trading in the evening, and Wednesday is a market holiday. For the week ahead, immediate resistance is expected around the 25,850 and 26,000 levels. Supports have now shifted higher and rest at 25,520 and 25,400 zones following the breakout. The weekly RSI stands at 60.88. It has formed a 14-period high, but remains neutral and does not show any divergence against the price. The MACD on the weekly chart is bullish as it trades above its signal line. A bullish candle has formed near the breakout point, confirming the move out of the symmetrical triangle and validating the strength of the breakout for now.From a pattern analysis standpoint, Nifty has resolved a multi-month symmetrical triangle to the upside. This breakout, occurring above a strong confluence zone, lends strength to the medium-term setup. The Index is trading well above all its key moving averages – the 20-week, 50-week, 100-week, and 200-week – which further underpins the bullish structure. The breakout also opens up the possibility of a trending move higher, provided the broader participation improves.In the coming week, a cautiously optimistic approach is advised. While the technical breakout gives the bulls an edge, the rising volatility and poor market breadth call for a disciplined strategy. It is essential to protect gains at higher levels while selectively participating in strength. Traders should avoid aggressive fresh buying and instead adopt a stock-specific approach with a strong focus on risk management. The method to approach the week: stay moderately bullish but tactically cautious.In our look at Relative Rotation Graphs®, we compared various sectors against the CNX500 (NIFTY 500 Index), representing over 95% of the free-float market cap of all the listed stocks. 124666217 124666241Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG) show that the Nifty Pharma, Metal, and Auto Indices maintain the leadership. These groups are inside the leading quadrant and are expected to relatively outperform the broader markets.The Nifty Midcap 100 Index remains the only Index inside the weakening quadrant. It is also seen as mildly improving its relative momentum. Individual stock-specific performance may be seen, but overall relative performance of the mid-cap space may continue to remain tepid.The Nifty Consumption, Commodities, Services Sector, and Media Indices continue to languish inside the lagging quadrant. They may continue to underperform the broader markets relatively. However, other groups, such as Realty, PSE, Nifty Bank, Infrastructure, Energy, and Financial Services, are also inside the lagging quadrant, butthey are seen improving significantly on their relative momentum. The Nifty FMCG Index is inside the improving quadrant, but it is rapidly slowing down in its momentum. The IT and Pharma Indices are also inside this quadrant and are expected to continue improving their relative performance against the broader markets.Important Note: RRGTM charts show the relative strength and momentum of a group of stocks. In the above Chart, they show relative performance against NIFTY500 Index (Broader Markets) and should not be used directly as buy or sell signals.

IDFC Bank reported its second quarter results for the financial year 2026, wherein the bank witnessed a 75.5% YoY surge in its standalone net profit at Rs 352.31 crore, up from Rs 200.69 crore in Q2FY26. Further, the bank’s net interest income (NII) rose by 6.8% YoY.NII was reported at Rs 5,112.57 crore for the said quarter, versus Rs 4,788 crore in the year-ago period.IDFC Bank’s net interest margin (NIM) fell by 59 bps on a year-on-year basis to 5.59%, down from 6.18% a year ago and 5.71% in the previous quarter.The bank’s gross NPA ratio declined by 6 basis points to 1.86%, while the net NPA increased by 4 basis points to 0.52% on a year-on-year basis.Further, IDFC Bank reported a 21.6% year-on-year increase in total customer business, which rose to Rs 5,35,673 crore as of September 30, 2025, compared to Rs 4,40,640 crore a year ago. Loans and advances grew by 19.7% YoY to Rs 2,66,579 crore from Rs 2,22,613 crore.IDFC Bank’s customer deposits rose 23.4% year-on-year to Rs 2,69,094 crore as of September 30, 2025, from Rs 2,18,026 crore a year earlier.Meanwhile, CASA deposits grew 26.8% YoY to Rs 1,38,583 crore. The CASA ratio improved by 119 basis points to 50.07%, up from 48.88% in the same quarter last year. The bank’s cost of funds declined by 23 basis points year-on-year to 6.23%.“The stress in the MFI business was an MFI industry issue and looks like it is behind us. Other than MFI, the asset quality of the Bank has always been stable for over a decade through cycles and continues to be so with Gross NPA at 1.86% and Net NPA at 0.52% as of 30th September 2025. On cost of funds, we expect it to drop from here on. The bank is witnessing improving operating leverage. For instance, in FY25, total Business, i.e. loans and customer deposits, grew by 22.7% YoY, against increase in Opex of 16.5% YoY. Following on, in H1 FY26, total Business grew by 21.6% YoY, against Opex increase of 11.8% YoY. We hope to sustain this trend,” said V Vaidyanathan, MD and CEO of ISFC First Bank.On Friday, the shares of IDFC First Bank closed flat at Rs 71.91 on the BSE. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

IDFC Bank reported its second quarter results for the financial year 2026, wherein the bank witnessed a 75.5% YoY surge in its standalone net profit at Rs 352.31 crore, up from Rs 200.69 crore in Q2FY26. However, the bank’s net interest income (NII) took a sharp hit, falling by 40% YoY.NII was reported at Rs 5,112.57 crore for the said quarter, versus Rs 8,540.03 crore in the year-ago period.IDFC Bank’s net interest margin (NIM) fell by 59 bps on a year-on-year basis to 5.59%, down from 6.18% a year ago and 5.71% in the previous quarter.The bank’s gross NPA ratio declined by 6 basis points to 1.86%, while the net NPA increased by 4 basis points to 0.52% on a year-on-year basis.Further, IDFC Bank reported a 21.6% year-on-year increase in total customer business, which rose to Rs 5,35,673 crore as of September 30, 2025, compared to Rs 4,40,640 crore a year ago. Loans and advances grew by 19.7% YoY to Rs 2,66,579 crore from Rs 2,22,613 crore.IDFC Bank’s customer deposits rose 23.4% year-on-year to Rs 2,69,094 crore as of September 30, 2025, from Rs 2,18,026 crore a year earlier.Meanwhile, CASA deposits grew 26.8% YoY to Rs 1,38,583 crore. The CASA ratio improved by 119 basis points to 50.07%, up from 48.88% in the same quarter last year. The bank’s cost of funds declined by 23 basis points year-on-year to 6.23%.“The stress in the MFI business was an MFI industry issue and looks like it is behind us. Other than MFI, the asset quality of the Bank has always been stable for over a decade through cycles and continues to be so with Gross NPA at 1.86% and Net NPA at 0.52% as of 30th September 2025. On cost of funds, we expect it to drop from here on. The bank is witnessing improving operating leverage. For instance, in FY25, total Business, i.e. loans and customer deposits, grew by 22.7% YoY, against increase in Opex of 16.5% YoY. Following on, in H1 FY26, total Business grew by 21.6% YoY, against Opex increase of 11.8% YoY. We hope to sustain this trend,” said V Vaidyanathan, MD and CEO of ISFC First Bank.On Friday, the shares of IDFC First Bank closed flat at Rs 71.91 on the BSE. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)