Business News Updates: Tesla signs deal to open first India showroom; Sajjan Jindal says 'They won’t have it easy'

Bank of America (BofA) expects the Nifty 50 to touch 25,000 by December 2025. This reflects an upside potential of nearly 11 percent from the current closing level of 22,545. However, the analysts remained conservative on its earnings estimates, in comparison to broader street expectations.

BofA however remained bearish on small-cap and mid-cap stocks.

US exports of crude oil to India in February rose to their highest in over two years, Reuters reported citing ship tracking data as stating. This comes as refiners in the country sought alternative supplies following tighter U.S. sanctions on Russian producers and tankers.

Blackstone is tapping Citigroup to raise at least $200 million-equivalent to back its purchase of South City Mall in Kolkata, Bloomberg reported. The bank is planning to syndicate the debt among local and global investors including private credit funds, the report quoted sources as saying. Details of the financing, including the debt’s format, are still under discussion, it added.

Britannia Industries Ltd’s executive director and chief executive officer Rajneet Singh Kohli has resigned from his position on March 5, the company said in an exchange filing on March 6.

Kohli has resigned to pursue an external opportunity, the top executive said in his resignation letter.

Vivo, Samsung, Oppo, Apple, Realme, and Motorola are the top players in India’s smartphone market, followed by China’s Xiaomi, according to IDC’s latest monthly data.

Gensol Engineering has denied ICRA's claim that it falsified documents and said it is currently probing the allegation. In a statement issued on March 5, Gensol Engineering had said that the rating downgrade by CARE and ICRA were led by 'short-term liquidity mismatch', and the situation is improving by way of customer payments. "...we deny any involvement in falsification claims and would be setting up a committee to comprehensively review the matter," Gensol had said.

JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal has said that Tesla's entry into India’s electric vehicle (EV) market will not be easy, as the company is set to face stiff competition from domestic players like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Speaking at the Ernst & Young 'Entrepreneur Of The Year' awards, Jindal asserted that Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk may find the Indian market challenging. “Elon Musk is not here. He is in the US,” Jindal said during a panel discussion. “He can’t be successful in India! We Indians are here. He cannot produce what Mahindra can do, what Tata can do.”

Brent crude prices dipped below $70 per barrel, extending a decline of over 6 percent in the last four trading sessions. At its lowest point, Brent hit levels not seen since 2021, prompting some market analysts to revise their price forecasts. Morgan Stanley has lowered its Brent estimates for the remainder of the year, now expecting the benchmark to trade in the $60s during the second half of 2025.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has raised concerns that India’s data protection framework could disproportionately disadvantage start-ups and MSMEs when compared to larger corporations.

In its submission on the draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, IAMAI warned that compliance with the framework, which includes the DPDP Act and the rules, demand significant financial and technical resources, which smaller businesses may struggle to meet.

Assets managed by women fund managers doubled to Rs 13.45 lakh crore at the end of January, while their number went up to 49 from 42 a year ago.

While the assets managed or co-managed by women are growing, their share of the overall industry remains miniscule. The bright spot, however, is that the number of women managers has gone up after remaining unchanged for the last two years.

Apple has launched the new MacBook Air powered by the M4 chip. Apple claims that the new MacBook Air offers up to 18 hours of battery life. The new MacBook Air also offers support for up to two external displays in addition to the built-in display, 16GB of starting unified memory.

The M4 MacBook Air (13-inch) starts at Rs 99,999. The 15-inch variant starts at Rs 1,24,999.

Expansion plans of Apple, Motorola and other electronics contract manufacturers could be hit if the US goes ahead with its tit-for-tar tariff plan, industry analysts and executives. US President Donald Trump said reciprocal levies will kick in from April 2.

India imposes a 16.5 percent basic customs duty (BCD) and surcharge on smartphones and electronics from the US. A 16.5 percent reciprocal duty by the US will make manufacturing in India less competitive, erasing its cost advantage.

Indian rupee opened 8 paise higher on March 6 due to sharp reduction in the dollar index and Brent crude oil prices. The local currency opened at 86.89 against the US dollar, as compared to 86.97 against the greenback at previous close.

The dollar index, which measures American currency's value against six major global peers, fell to 104.30 in the early trade. It was trading at 105 levels in last two trading sessions.

Sensex and Nifty were down marginally, after recording significant gains the previous day. Sensex was down nearly 54 points at 73,625, while Nifty was standing nearly 0.1 percent lower at 22,317. Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, BPCL and Shriram Finance were the top gainers on the indices.

US President Donald Trump will exempt automakers from his 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month as long as they comply with existing free trade rules. Trump however has made it clear that he was not calling off his trade war with Canada and Mexico. After a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump said he was not convinced the situation had improved.

"He said that it's gotten better, but I said, 'That's not good enough,'" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "The call ended in a 'somewhat' friendly manner!" Trudeau's office said discussions would continue.

In a major blow, the US administration has asked India for nil tariffs on nearly all its products except agriculture goods traded between the two countries, a report by CNBC-TV18 said on March 6.

Significantly, the US President Donald Trump-led administration is unlikely to grant any concession to New Delhi from the reciprocal tariffs set to come into effect from April 2.

This comes after Trump repeatedly called out India and other countries for 'unfair' trade systems.

Elon Musk's Tesla has signed a lease deal to open its first showroom in Mumbai, Reuters reported citing registration papers. The company has signed a five-year lease from February 16, 2025 and will pay rent of about $446,000 for the first year for a 4,003 square feet (372 square meter) space, almost the size of a basketball court. The showroom will be situated in the Maker Maxity building in the business and retail hub of Bandra Kurla Complex near the city's airport, according to the papers.