🔥 Gold at ₹85K? Markets on Fire Ahead of Budget! (Feb 1)

📢 It’s Budget Day, India! 🇮🇳💰 Good morning! It’s February 1st, aka Union Budget 2025 Day – the Super Bowl of Indian finance and Bhai Dooj for taxpayers. Today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveils the country’s economic game plan, and we’re here to break it all down! 💼📊

So, grab your chai and let’s get into today’s headlines! 🚀

📰 Chai Shots

• 💸 Budget 2025 is here! – FM Sitharaman will present the Union Budget at 11 AM today. Expect possible tax relief, infrastructure push, and AI investments. Watch live on Sansad TV & online.

• 📈 Will PM Modi grant tax relief? – PM’s pre-Budget speech invoked Goddess Lakshmi, fueling speculation on income tax cuts for the middle class.

• 📊 India’s GDP growth forecast – Economic Survey predicts 6.3-6.8% growth for FY26, but warns of US market volatility impacting Indian stocks.

• 🏆 Gold breaks records again! – Gold touched ₹84,900 per 10g, driven by global uncertainty and pre-Budget buying frenzy.

• 📉 Trump tariffs shake markets – The White House confirmed that 25% tariffs on Mexico & Canada and a 10% duty on China will start Saturday, aiming to curb illegal fentanyl imports. The S&P tumbled -0.5% on the news. 🚨

📈 Market Masala

• Markets soar ahead of Budget 📊🔥 – Sensex closed at 77,500 (+0.97%), Nifty at 23,508 (+1.11%), fueled by tax cut hopes.

• FMCG & Durables lead gains 🏠📈 – Tata Consumer, Nestlé India, and Kalyan Jewellers surged as investors bet on higher disposable income post-Budget.

• FIIs sell, DIIs buy big 💰📉 – FIIs offloaded ₹1,189 Cr, but DIIs bought ₹2,232 Cr, keeping markets afloat.

• 📈 Upstox’s Profits Skyrocket! – The stock trading platform reported a whopping 8x surge in profits to ₹190 crore for FY24. Revenue jumped 25% to ₹1,311 crore as it expanded into insurance, fixed deposits, and government securities. With 2.8 million active traders, Upstox is fighting it out with Zerodha, Groww, and Angel One for dominance. 📊💹

• ✈️ Go First Saga Continues – The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has told Busy Bee Airways (backed by EaseMyTrip’s Nishant Pitti) to negotiate with lenders instead of going into liquidation. The airline still holds valuable licenses, but with no operational planes, can it actually take off again? 🚀🤔

🌍 Global Masala

• 📉 Wall Street tumbles on Trump tariffs – Dow fell 337 points, S&P 500 lost 0.50%, and Nasdaq dropped 0.28% as markets braced for new trade tensions with Mexico, Canada & China.

• Microsoft job cuts with no severance 🏢🔻 – Employees laid off for “performance reasons” lose all benefits immediately.

• Apple expands AI language support 🗣️🍏 – Apple Intelligence will support more languages, including localized English for India and Singapore, starting in April.

• 📊 Asian markets mostly gained, driven by strong U.S. tech earnings. Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1% as inflation hit 2.5%, raising rate hike expectations.

• 🇪🇺 European stocks extended record highs, with the Stoxx 600 and FTSE 100 hitting fresh peaks. Smiths Group jumped 11% on restructuring plans, while the ECB cut rates to 2.75% with expectations of more cuts.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• Krutrim AI brings DeepSeek to India 🤖🇮🇳 – Bhavish Aggarwal’s AI startup will host DeepSeek models on local servers to cut costs and boost security.

• Volkai AI trends for 24 hours 🔥🤖 – The Indian AI platform went viral as influencers hyped its India-first AI capabilities. Users raved about its culturally relevant content and affordability, but only time will tell if Volkai AI can take on OpenAI and Google? 🔥🤖

• ElevenLabs raises $180M for AI audio 🎙️🔊 – The AI voice startup is now valued at $3.3B, backed by a16z & ICONIQ.

🔮 What’s Brewing Next?

• ⏳ Budget 2025 Unfolds! – All eyes on FM Sitharaman’s speech at 11 AM. Will we get tax cuts, capex boosts, or new AI investments?

• 📉 Will FIIs return post-Budget? – Analysts say a strong Budget could reverse foreign investor outflows from Indian markets.

• 🏠 NRI tax rules need a fix – Calls for simplifying property TDS compliance & allowing refunds to foreign bank accounts.

🤔 Chai Break Trivia

The first-ever Union Budget of independent India was presented on November 26, 1947 by R. K. Shanmukham Chetty—just 114 days after independence! 🇮🇳💰 At the time, India's total Budget size was just ₹197 crore. Fast forward to today, and we’re dealing in lakh crores! 😲📊

Crazy how far we've come, right? 🚀 Stay tuned for Sunday’s Budget Special where we’ll break down all the key announcements! 🔥💼

That’s it for today’s Masala Chai! ☕🔥 We’ll be back tomorrow with a FULL breakdown of Budget 2025. Until then, enjoy the Budget drama and keep your tax-saving plans ready! 😉💸🚀