Weekly Market Update: Ather IPO & Fed Interest Rate Decision

The Omaha meeting stole the limelight this week: Warren Buffett, 94, announced he will retire at year-end

. Buffett told Berkshire Hathaway’s board that vice‐chairman Greg Abel should succeed him as CEO

. The news marked the end of Buffett’s six-decade run leading the conglomerate. He even pledged “zero” intention of selling any share of Berkshire, saying the company’s prospects will be “better under Greg’s management than mine”

. Berkshire’s performance under Buffett was extraordinary – a 19.9% annual gain versus about 10.4% for the S&P 500

. Longtime investors gave Buffett a standing ovation when he made his announcement.

Warren Buffett (left) and Charlie Munger plush dolls on display at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting (Omaha, May 3, 2025). Buffett stunned shareholders by announcing he’ll step down by year-end.

Across the globe, tension spiked after the Pahalgam terror attack (Apr 22). The terrorists targeted Hindu tourists in Jammu & Kashmir, killing 26 people.

. In response, New Delhi downgraded ties with Pakistan and imposed punitive steps – suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, expelling military attaches and even banning imports from Pakistan

. The standoff has led to a freeze in bilateral ties, but for markets the immediate impact has been limited to brief risk-off moves. Retail investors should note the environment: geopolitical risk has edged higher, but broad market fundamentals in India remain intact.

On the corporate front in India, electric scooter maker Ather Energy launched its IPO (Apr 28–30). The issue price band was set at ₹304–₹321 per share, and the offer raised about ₹2,981 crore

(fresh issue plus offer-for-sale). Secondary market sentiment was muted: the grey-market premium (GMP) has hovered near zero, implying a flat listing on debut. In short, Ather’s listing adds a large-cap EV name for traders to watch, but the valuation (about 6× EV/Sales) suggests the stock may not run up sharply on the first day.

Among earnings, one interesting bellwether is CDSL – India’s only listed depository. Its Q4 FY25 results (announced May 3) showed a ~22% drop in consolidated profit to ₹100.39 crore (from ₹129.4 cr a year ago). Revenue fell about 6.7% to ₹224.45 cr.

The slowdown reflects lean trading fees and data-service income. Still, a bright spot was continued retail participation: CDSL said it added roughly 3.73 crore new demat accounts in FY25, taking its total to ~15.29 crore investors.

In other words, while Q4 turnover (and fee revenue) eased, the long-term trend of strong account growth – a proxy for household market participation – remains intact. You can take this as a positive sign that the broader market continues to widen its base of investors, even if volumes ebb from time to time.

The State Bank of India (SBI) also reported Q4 FY25 results, giving a snapshot of the banking sector. SBI’s net profit slipped about 10% YoY to ₹18,642.6 crore. Net interest income (NII) grew modestly (~2.7%) to ₹42,774.6 cr, while operating profit was up ~8.8% to ₹31,286 cr. Higher provisioning (up ~20%) and a bit lower net interest margin (3.15% vs 3.47% last year) weighed on the bottom line. Notably, SBI declared a ₹15.90/share dividend for the quarter. Asset quality continued to improve – GNPA was ~1.82% of loans (down from 2.24% a year ago)

– reflecting healthy credit conditions. Overall, SBI’s numbers show steady loan growth and stable credit costs, even as higher provisions trimmed profits. Investors will watch the bank’s guidance and loan pipeline, but for now the results underscore that India’s banking system remains relatively strong.

What’s Ahead (May 5–11, 2025)

Looking to next week, the calendar is headlined by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting. Traders should mark Wed, May 7 (11:30pm IST) – the Fed will announce whether it will keep rates steady or change its guidance.

As always, the Fed decision will set the tone for global markets.