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Government Fixes Jet Fuel Price For Airlines: What It Means For Your Next Flight Booking

The Centre has fixed the aviation turbine fuel, or ATF, benchmark at Rs 86.32 per litre for domestic operations under a Rs 10,000-crore stabilisation plan.

Rupee rises 50 paise to 95.24 against US dollar post RBI policy decision

The rupee appreciated 50 paise to 95.24 against the US dollar on Friday after the RBI liberalised norms for FPI investment in government securities. Forex traders said the announcements in the RBI policy boosted investor sentiments after the apex bank asserted that the country's forex reserves provide sufficient buffer against external shocks. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.72, then touched 95.24 in intraday trade, registering a rise of 50 paise from its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee rose 2 paise to settle at 95.74 against the US dollar. The Reserve Bank on Friday expectedly kept interest rates unchanged for the second time in a row as it weighed the impact of rising energy prices and supply disruptions caused by the West Asia crisis. Announcing the second bi-monthly monetary policy for the current fiscal, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has unanimously decided to retain short-term lending rate or repo rate at 5.25 per cent with a neutral stance. Moreover, the RBI raised limit for investments by Non-Resident Indians, Overseas Citizens of India in equity instruments. Malhotra also said that the central bank's policy on exchange rate remains unchanged and it does not target any specific rate/band for the rupee. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.40, higher by 0.01 per cent. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading up 0.36 per cent at USD 95.37 per barrel in futures trade. On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 142.06 points or 0.19 per cent to 74,217.95, while the Nifty was down 38.75 points or 0.17 per cent at 23,377.80. Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 4,447.06 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data. Meanwhile, RBI has lowered GDP growth projection to 6.6 per cent from 6.9 per cent earlier for the current fiscal and raised CPI inflation projection to 5.1 per cent for FY27, higher from earlier estimate of 4.6 per cent. PTI

Go Digit Insurance shares jump 9% after Rs 100 crore block deal attracts MFs, global investor

Shares of Go Digit General Insurance surged 8.66% to Rs 329 during Friday's trading session, extending gains after a significant Rs 100-crore block deal in the previous session attracted prominent institutional investors.The block deal saw Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund and JPMorgan (Taiwan) Eastern Technology Fund collectively acquire 33.33 lakh shares at a weighted average price of Rs 300 per share.Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund purchased 21.66 lakh shares worth approximately Rs 65 crore, while JPMorgan (Taiwan) Eastern Technology Fund acquired 11.66 lakh shares valued at around Rs 35 crore.The seller in the transaction was Peak XV Partners Growth Investments III, which offloaded its entire 33.33 lakh-share stake for nearly Rs 100 crore.Stock PerformanceDespite Friday's sharp rally, Go Digit Insurance has remained under pressure over the past year, with the stock declining around 10% during the period. The company currently commands a market capitalisation of Rs 27,993 crore.The stock's 52-week high stands at Rs 381.40, while its 52-week low is Rs 295.50.On the valuation front, Go Digit Insurance trades at a Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio of 49.28 and a Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio of 6.51, reflecting premium market expectations for the insurer's growth prospects.The company delivered a robust financial performance in the March 2026 quarter. Revenue rose 9% year-on-year to Rs 3,181 crore, while net profit surged 49.2% YoY to Rs 173 crore, highlighting improved profitability and operational efficiency.The shareholding pattern for the March 2026 quarter reflected mixed investor activity. Promoters marginally reduced their stake in the company from 73.03% to 73.01%, while Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) trimmed their holdings from 8.26% to 8.01%. In contrast, mutual funds increased their ownership from 8.02% to 8.28%, signaling continued confidence from domestic institutional investors despite the reduction in foreign investor participation.From a technical perspective, the stock's Relative Strength Index (RSI-14) stands at 40.8. An RSI below 30 is generally considered oversold, while a reading above 70 signals overbought conditions.Go Digit Insurance is currently trading above 5 out of its 8 key Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), suggesting improving near-term momentum. However, the stock remains below its 100-day, 150-day, and 200-day moving averages, indicating that long-term trend confirmation is still awaited.The sharp rally following the Rs 100-crore block deal and increased mutual fund participation has put Go Digit Insurance back on investors' radar. Market participants will closely watch whether the stock can sustain momentum and reclaim key long-term resistance levels in the coming sessions.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Adani Ports shares snap 2-day fall, rise over 1% after Goldman Sachs raises target price

Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rebounded after a two-session decline, rising more than 1% to Rs 1,812 on Friday after Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its 'Buy' rating on the stock. The brokerage also raised the stock's target price to Rs 1,870. Goldman Sachs highlighted that cargo volumes in May 2026 rose 16% year-on-year to 48.3 million tonnes, led by a 33% increase in liquid cargo and a 17% rise in container volumes. Quarter-to-date cargo volumes stood at 91.4 million tonnes, up 15% from a year ago and ahead of analyst expectations.Goldman Sachs noted that thermal coal volumes are witnessing a recovery and are likely to remain robust during the summer months. However, logistics rail volumes in May declined 19% year-on-year to 48,170 container units.The brokerage identified key growth drivers as higher Tata Power-linked coal volumes at Mundra, the ramp-up of operations at the Vizhinjam transhipment hub, growth in liquid cargo at Mundra, and expansion of multimodal logistics parks.Reflecting the strong volume momentum and improving return on capital employed (ROCE), Goldman Sachs has revised its earnings estimates upward and increased its target price for the stock.Adani Ports Q4 snapshotAdani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,329 crore for the March-ended quarter, compared to Rs 3,014 crore in the year-ago period, marking a 10% increase. The profit after tax (PAT) is attributable to equity holders of the parent.India's largest port operator posted revenue growth of 26% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 10,737 crore in Q4FY26, as against Rs 8,488 crore posted by the company in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.The company's Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) in the quarter under review stood at Rs 6,02 crore, up 20% from Rs 5,006 crore reported in Q4FY25.Also read: Rajesh Exports shares hit 5% lower circuit for 2nd day; firm cites 'communication gap' after Sebi order For the full financial year, PAT jumped 16% to Rs 12,782 crore compared to Rs 11,061 crore in FY25, while the topline stood at Rs 38,736 crore for FY26 versus Rs 31,079 crore in FY25, recording a 25% growth. EBITDA saw a 20% YoY uptick at Rs 22,851 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

RBI MPC highlights: Top decisions by Guv

Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday announced the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision, with repo rate remaining unchanged at 5.25%. The status quo reflects the RBI's cautious approach amid uncertainties arising from the ongoing West Asia conflict, which has heightened concerns over inflation and economic growth. At its previous policy review in April, the RBI had kept rates unchanged, choosing to closely monitor the evolving geopolitical situation and its potential impact on energy prices, inflation and economic activity.All six members of the rate panel, which includes three central bank officials and three external appointees, voted to hold rates. The MPC decided to continue with its "neutral" stance."The central bank's rate panel noted that the global environment has deteriorated," RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said. Also Read- RBI MPC 2026 LiveKey Policy Rates Unchanged Repo rate: 5.25% Standing Deposit Facility (SDF): 5.00% Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) & Bank Rate: 5.50% Stance: NeutralInflation updateThe governor said that the CPI inflation remains below the target despite the global shock, as the pass-through to domestic prices has been limited, while the baseline projections point towards headline inflation firming up towards the upper tolerance level in Q3 this year.

India set to hike biogas prices, subsidies: Sources

Sensex rises over 200 points, Nifty above 23,400 as investors eye RBI MPC meet outcome

Indian stock market traded in the green on Friday, with Sensex and Nifty extending gains for the second consecutive session as investors await the outcome of RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) meeting today.Sensex gained 270 points at 74,629.94, while Nifty 50 rose over 62 points at 23,478.95. This came as India VIX, which measures volatility in markets, fell over 2% to 15.89.Infosys, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Tech Mahindra, M&M and Maruti Suzuki shares gained over 1% each to lead gains on Sensex. Tata Steel shares meanwhile fell over 1% to lead losses on the benchmark index.Broader markets also traded in the green, with Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 indices gaining over 0.3% each. All sectoral indices opened in the green, with Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty IT and Nifty Media rising nearly 1% each. Around 1,824 stocks advanced on NSE, while 523 declined and 101 remained unchanged.What’s moving the stock market upward today?"There are some mild positive indications for the market today. There are signs of weakness in the AI trade in the US, South Korea and Taiwan and rotation away from tech stocks, but it is too early to say whether this will sustain,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.The focus of the market today will be on the monetary policy and the message from the RBI Governor, the analyst said. “The MPC is likely to hold rates with a guidance of a rate hike later in the year to combat inflation which is expected to rise in H2 FY27. RBI is likely to revise the GDP growth for FY 27 downward and CPI inflation upward in the context of the energy shock and its implications,” he added.According to Vijayakumar, the most likely policy action is a ‘hawkish hold’, that is, the RBI would hold the rates without any change but would send a hawkish message that inflation is set to rise and, therefore, expect rate hike later this year. If the RBI decides to act now with a 25 bps rate hike, that will move the banking stocks sharply upwards since they would benefit from rate hikes, he further said. However, a rate hike would be negative for interest elastic segments like automobiles and real estate, the analyst added.Rupee risesRupee meanwhile gained 8 paise to 95.66 against US dollar in early trade. “With India's import bill under pressure from elevated commodity prices and continued FII outflows, participants will closely monitor the Governor’s commentary for cues on inflation, currency stability, and future policy direction,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst of Commodity and Currency at LKP Securities.The analyst expects the near-term range for rupee to be 95.25–96.25.FII selling continuesForeign investors continued to remain bearish on Indian markets. FIIs net sold Indian shares worth Rs 4,447 crore on Thursday, according to data on NSE.Notably, FIIs have remained net sellers of Indian equities for five consecutive sessions. (With inputs from agencies)(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Diesel price surge puts pressure on coal contractors

Blankets, rice, wheat found in house linked to TMC leader; BJP demands probe

Blankets, rice, wheat found in house linked to TMC leader; BJP demands probe

Oil prices today: Crude falls as Hezbollah rejects US-backed ceasefire

Oil prices saw a slight dip Friday as Middle East ceasefire hopes dimmed after Hezbollah rejected a US-backed proposal. Despite this, benchmarks are set for their first weekly gain in three weeks, buoyed by ongoing regional tensions and Strait of Hormuz disruptions. Conflicting signals from the region and declining global inventories are keeping investors cautious, suggesting continued price volatility.

Why Google cofounders lost $10 billion each on the day Google raised $80 billion

Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin each saw their fortunes drop by approximately $10 billion following Alphabet's announcement of an $80 billion stock sale. This massive fundraising aims to fuel the company's AI expansion amidst intensifying competition and projected significant capital expenditures. The market's reaction to the ambitious plan led to a sharp decline in Alphabet's share price.

Gold glitters in India even as global prices retreat

'Our interest is ending conflict': Putin rejects claims Russia is cashing in on Iran war oil surge

Russian President Vladimir Putin desires a swift end to the Middle East conflict, refuting claims that Moscow profits from rising energy prices. He emphasized Iran's resilience and the need to consider its interests in any settlement. Putin also lauded India as a reliable partner, describing the India-Russia relationship as a "special privileged strategic partnership" and expressing confidence in expanding trade ties.

Tamil Nadu Orders Probe Into Theft Of 18 Hard Disks From Electricity Office

Minister said contracts were awarded at inflated prices compared to market rates by previous government.

The curious case of Rajesh Exports: Massive revenues, meagre profits

Mumbai: It is India's fourth biggest company by revenue, but the managing director of precious metals trader Rajesh Exports (REL) apparently doesn't know how and from where it gets the biggest chunk of the revenue, show the findings of a regulatory investigation.In its investigation report, the Securities and Exchange Board of India observed allegedly unscrupulous activities by REL's promoters, such as accounting irregularities and siphoning off of company funds into personal accounts, and also pointed out lapses by its auditors. The regulator said the company and its auditors were non-cooperative."The acts of REL constitute a deliberate device, scheme and artifice to mislead and defraud investors dealing in the shares of REL by portraying an inflated and misleading picture of its operational scale, revenue and financial health," Sebi observed in its report.The company, eponymously named after its chairman Rajesh Mehta, is accused of committing an elaborate financial fraud that includes dressing-up of revenues of ₹15.15 lakh crore over the years, personal gold trades covered up as corporate sales and phoney gold mine investments of ₹1,035 crore, according to the interim report.REL denied the charges of misdeeds. In a press release Thursday, the company said the revenues stated in its financials were correct and that the confusion arose because of a mix-up between Ebitda and revenue numbers at Swiss refiner Valcambi SA, an indirect subsidiary.Sebi has not made any adverse observation with regard to earnings, the company said, claiming that the regulator has only observed suspicion with regard to revenues which was primarily because of confusion over the Valcambi numbers.Numbers don't add upIn fiscal 2025, REL reported consolidated revenue of ₹4.23 lakh crore against a profit after tax of just ₹95 crore, translating into a net margin of barely 0.02%. The year before, on ₹2.8 lakh crore revenue, profit was ₹336 crore.Experts who have studied the Sebi report and the company's annual reports say the numbers did not add up. The business appeared to be operating at margins that were not merely thin but structurally negligible, they said."It looks like a case of pass-through accounting. There is no value creation. It was 'flow of gold' being booked as revenue," said a leading auditor on the condition of anonymity.Sebi, which began the investigations in March 2024 following a shareholder complaint about suspected accounting malpractices, said it found that about 97-99% of REL's consolidated revenues were attributed to its overseas subsidiaries, principally Valcambi. But Valcambi's own accounts, audited by KPMG SA, recorded only processing fees that were about ₹3,027 crore across five years.Valcambi refined gold on behalf of clients and never took ownership of the precious metal or recognised the value of gold as revenue in its books. Yet, Global Gold Refineries AG (GGR), the parent of Valcambi that had no independent operating business, recorded gross revenues running into hundreds of crores by including the gross value of gold that actually belonged to others, according to the Sebi report.Rajesh Exports, which owns GGR through a Singapore subsidiary, used those unaudited figures in its financial statements, significantly bumping up the company's revenue, it said.In its press release, REL said: "The core observation in the order is with regard to the misreporting of the revenues. This has emerged primarily due to confusion because Sebi has considered the Ebitda of Valcambi instead of revenue hence it has stated that there is a difference of about 97% in the revenue.""There is no reason for any listed entity to inflate revenue and maintain the earnings, this will only reduce the margins of the company, which would be adverse to the company," it said.Senior management in the darkThe senior management of REL told regulators that most of them were in the dark about the company's overseas operations and only the promoter, Rajesh Mehta, dealt with those activities."Valcambi SA does not have any gold mine on its own," managing director Suresh Gowda was quoted in the Sebi order as saying. "It refines the raw gold purchased by it from various entities, whose names I do not recollect, as these things are exclusively handled by Rajesh Mehta, chairman of REL. I have never interacted nor involved with any subsidiary/step-down subsidiary of REL, as these were exclusively taken care of by Rajesh Mehta," he told the investigators, as per the order.According to the report, REL booked ₹11,487 crore in sales between 2021-22 and 2023-24 to Affluence Shares and Stocks, a broker that made up to 66% of the company's standalone revenue for that period. But Affluence, in formal depositions to the regulator, said it had not done any business with REL.Following the transaction trail, the investigators found out that the transactions were personal gold derivative trades executed by promoter Mehta using his own brokerage account and then recorded in the company's books as corporate sales, the order said.The investigators also found that Mehta used corporate funds. As per the Sebi observations, bank records show REL transferred ₹338.90 crore directly into Mehta's personal accounts between April 2020 and September 2025.Unlike in the case of Nirav Modi or Gitanjali Gems, who are accused of bank fraud, Rajesh Exports doesn't appear to have borrowed big from banks or through sale of bonds, according to regulatory filings.The company's market cap was just over ₹3,000 crore, as per Thursday's closing share price. LIC (10.8%) and Bridge India Fund (8.46%) are its major institutional shareholders."It is striking that, even at a peak market capitalisation of ₹25,000 crore, the company did not hold any analyst calls, a basic expectation for a listed company of that scale," said Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director of InGovern Research Services, a corporate governance advisory firm.The regulator in 2024 hired BDO India Services to investigate. But the forensic audit faced problems at almost every stage of the investigation. It was denied access to ERP systems and was not provided a complete journal dump, preventing independent verification of transactions recorded in the books, according to the regulatory report.And the company declined to share subsidiary-level records with the investigator, citing Swiss data protection laws, limiting auditors largely to reviewing financial statements prepared by the management itself rather than underlying evidence, it said.What's also come under the scanner was the conduct of statutory auditors for the last few years: CA PV Ramana Reddy, the proprietor at PV Ramana Reddy & Co, and CA PL Venkatadri, partner at BSD & Co.The company's FY24 and FY25 annual reports, filed with the stock exchanges, carry an unqualified opinion from BSD & Co, which concluded that the financial statements presented a "true and fair view" in line with Indian Accounting Standards.The company's FY24 Directors' Report noted that the statutory and secretarial auditors had made no qualifications, reservations or adverse remarks.The Sebi report said for over five months, the auditors sat on the regulator's request for missing documents and statements.Emails sent to both audit firms did not elicit any response.REL closed 5% lower at ₹103.92 Thursday on the NSE. The shares are down from their peak of ₹1,028.40 on February 6, 2023.

FPI exodus from financials cools, but foreign investors remain net sellers

Mumbai: Global investors continued to pare equity stake in the financial services sector in the second half of May, however the pace of selling came off.Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) sold shares worth ₹5,181 crore from the sector in the period, significantly lower than the outflow of ₹17,000 crore in first half of the month, according to the data from NSDL. Between January and March, global investors pulled out shares worth over ₹60,000 crore from the sector."Banking stocks offered foreign investors an easy exit from India by virtue of being highly liquid," said U R Bhat, co-founder & director, Alphaniti. "Despite the sell-off, the sector has fared well, barring a few specific exceptions. Now investors are reducing exposure in other sectors."Bank Nifty fell 1% over the past one month compared with a 2.9% drop in the benchmark Nifty 50."Global investors toned down the selling in the banking and financial services sector and bought selectively- mostly smaller banks instead of the large caps which is why the pace of outflows moderated," said Sonam Srivastava, founder and CEO, Wright Research. Overseas investors sold shares worth ₹14,621 crore across 13 sectors in the second half of May, after withdrawing ₹38,443 crore across 19 sectors in the first half of the month.131518952FPIs have continued the selling spree in the current calendar year, offloading equities worth ₹2.6 lakh crore up till June 03. This exceeds their outflow of ₹1.7 lakh crore in the whole of 2025. A sustained selling pressure has intensified this year due to AI disruption and inflationary pressure on account of elevated oil prices given the US-Iran war. In addition, the net outflow of ₹1.3 lakh crore in FY27 so far exceeds the net investment of ₹84,132 crore by FPIs since FY17. The cumulative net foreign investment in Indian equities dropped to the lowest level in 12 years to ₹7.1 lakh crore in FY27.In the second half of May, automobiles and oil and gas sectors reported worth over ₹2,000 crore. On May 29, The MSCI rebalancing led to outflows worth ₹8,000-8,500 crore which also factored in the outflows for this fortnight. "Changes in the MSCI Index shifts the composition of not just index funds that mimic the index but also weighs on decisions of other funds,who largely use MSCI indices as benchmarks" said Bhat.Among sectors that reported net inflows in the second half of May, metals attracted nearly 60% of the inflows -the highest foreign inflows worth ₹4,999 crore for the period. The sector witnessed inflows worth over ₹6,500 crore in May.

Government mulls cement roads amid bitumen price spike

Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is exploring cement concrete roads over bituminous ones due to a surge in bitumen prices and supply disruptions from the West Asia conflict. He also highlighted the potential of domestically produced bio-bitumen from rice straw and other biowaste to reduce imports and save foreign exchange.

Panel grills Centre on OMCs’ failure to absorb oil shock

Finance committee flags fuel price impact, inflation concerns amid U.S.-Iran tensions, seeks detailed government response

Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI, 'your datacenter problems just got bigger '

Nine major industry trade groups have warned the Trump administration that the rapid expansion of AI data centers is severely straining global memory chip supplies. This surge in demand is driving up prices and reducing availability for critical sectors like automotive, healthcare, and consumer electronics, posing risks to US supply chains and the broader economy.

Rajeev Thakkar on when to hold, when to exit, and why most get it wrong

For most investors, the focus is often on finding the right stock, entering at the right valuation, and identifying the next multibagger. Far fewer spend time understanding what may be the more difficult aspect of investing—knowing when to sell.Speaking at the ET Alpha Wealth Summit on Thursday on "The Art of the Exit," Rajiv Thakkar, CIO and Director at PPFAS Asset Management said that successful investing is not just about buying well but also about staying invested long enough for compounding to work. In fact, before discussing reasons to sell, he spent considerable time explaining why investors should avoid selling in the first place.According to Thakkar, one of the biggest mistakes investors make is selling because a stock has not moved for a few months.Also Read | ET Alpha Wealth Summit: Future alpha may emerge from neglected markets and asset classes, says Kalpen Parekh Investors often spend significant effort researching a company, understanding management quality, assessing industry prospects and evaluating valuations. Yet after purchasing the stock, many lose patience if prices remain stagnant for six months or a year.https://youtube.com/shorts/RiLj-X02NNE?feature=share"Investments are meant for wealth creation, not entertainment," he said, cautioning against treating investing like a source of excitement or constant action.Another common trigger for unnecessary selling is reacting to news flow. Markets are constantly bombarded with information—wars, elections, crude oil fluctuations, interest-rate decisions, capital flows and economic data. Investors who react to every headline often end up making poor decisions.To illustrate this, Thakkar recounted the story of an investor who received advance information about the severity of the Covid outbreak in early 2020. Acting on that information, the investor sold his technology stocks before the market crash. While the prediction turned out to be accurate, fear prevented him from re-entering the market, and he ultimately missed one of the strongest rallies in technology stocks.The lesson, according to Thakkar, is that even correct information does not necessarily translate into successful investment outcomes. Thakkar was particularly critical of the concept of "profit booking."Investors often feel compelled to sell simply because a stock has appreciated significantly. However, he argued that wealth is created by allowing successful investments to compound rather than by repeatedly locking in gains.Frequent buying and selling may benefit brokers, exchanges and tax authorities, but it often works against long-term investors. Hyperactivity in portfolios can destroy wealth by interrupting compounding and increasing costs.Similarly, investors should avoid selling because another stock appears more attractive. This "buyer's remorse" mindset frequently causes investors to abandon good businesses prematurely in pursuit of seemingly better opportunities."If you manage to find a genuinely good business with strong management, a large opportunity set and reasonable valuations, the best course of action is often to simply stay invested," he said.Thakkar emphasised that investors in taxable jurisdictions such as India should maintain low portfolio turnover whenever possible. Unlike institutional structures such as mutual funds or investors in tax-free jurisdictions, individual investors face taxes and transaction costs every time they trade. Excessive churn can significantly reduce long-term returns.For wealthy investors, family offices and HNIs, the ability to remain invested and minimise unnecessary transactions often becomes a major source of compounding advantage.Also Read | ET Alpha Wealth Summit: India could unlock a $5 trillion export opportunity through FTAs, says Saurabh Mukherjea While most reasons for selling are flawed, Thakkar identified several situations where exiting an investment becomes necessary. The most obvious reason is the need for capital. If an investor requires money for a business opportunity, acquisition or personal objective, selling investments may be entirely justified. More importantly, investors must be willing to acknowledge mistakes.If an investment thesis turns out to be wrong because of flawed analysis, poor due diligence or changing circumstances, the best course is often to exit quickly rather than averaging down endlessly.According to Thakkar, investors who recognise mistakes early frequently outperform those who identify good opportunities but refuse to sell losing positions. Capital trapped in poor investments cannot be deployed into better opportunities. Fraud, naturally, represents an immediate reason to exit.One of the more challenging selling decisions arises when industries face structural disruption. Questions such as whether newspapers can survive the internet, whether thermal power can coexist with renewable energy or whether traditional automobile manufacturers can adapt to electric vehicles rarely have straightforward answers.Thakkar suggested that investors should not react impulsively but should continuously evaluate incoming evidence. Investment decisions should be driven by facts rather than sentiment. If the underlying business continues to deteriorate because of technological or structural change, investors must eventually acknowledge reality and exit.At the same time, distinguishing genuine disruption from temporary noise remains critical. Exceptional businesses are not immune to becoming overvalued. Thakkar pointed to situations where valuations become so excessive that future growth is already fully reflected in stock prices. In such cases, taking profits, paying taxes and reallocating capital may be sensible.He also noted that investors may sell a reasonably valued investment if a significantly superior opportunity emerges elsewhere.During the question-and-answer session, investors raised concerns about stocks that stop performing despite sound fundamentals. Examples such as Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel and even silver investments highlighted a common dilemma: should investors exit after years of gains and subsequent consolidation?Also Read | MF Tracker: Can ICICI Prudential Multicap Fund sustain its strong track record in a volatile market? Thakkar's response was that even excellent businesses can spend years moving sideways. Companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and Bharat Electronics have all gone through extended periods of stagnant share-price performance despite remaining fundamentally strong businesses.Investors should therefore distinguish between stock-price performance and business performance. As long as the underlying business continues to execute well, temporary market stagnation alone is not a sufficient reason to sell.For investors worried about selling too early, Thakkar recommended a phased approach. Instead of attempting to identify exact market tops, investors can gradually reduce exposure over time. For instance, if a stock appears significantly overvalued, an investor might sell a portion every month rather than exiting entirely in one transaction.This systematic approach helps manage the emotional difficulty of selling while reducing the risk of poor timing. Another important consideration is position sizing. Addressing a question about highly successful investments such as Nvidia, Thakkar noted that even outstanding businesses can become disproportionately large components of a portfolio.When a single stock grows from a small allocation into a dominant position, investors face a different risk—wealth preservation rather than wealth creation. His solution is gradual trimming. Investors can periodically reduce oversized positions to maintain comfortable portfolio weightings while still participating in future upside.This approach may not maximise returns, but it significantly reduces the risk of catastrophic losses and helps investors sleep better during periods of volatility.Thakkar concluded by stressing the importance of diversification and long-term investing. Most individuals create wealth through a single business, profession or sector. Their financial portfolios should therefore diversify away from that concentration rather than amplify it.Whether through mutual funds, retirement vehicles such as NPS, EPF and PPF, or diversified portfolios, investors should focus on owning inflation-protected assets for long periods. "The lower the churn in a portfolio, the greater the opportunity for compounding," he said.Ultimately, successful investing is not about perfectly timing every entry and exit. It is about avoiding unnecessary activity, admitting mistakes quickly, remaining patient with good businesses and ensuring that no single investment becomes large enough to threaten long-term financial stability.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in alongwith your age, risk profile, and Twitter handle.