Stock market recommendations: According to Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, the top stock picks for the week (starting January 19, 2026) are 360 One, and Canara HSBC Life. Let’s take a look:

360 One360 One WAM is a structural growth story given tailwinds from India’s expanding wealth pool, new team onboarding, and synergies from recent acquisitions which underpin long-term growth visibility. It delivered a strong 3QFY26, driven by robust inflows and operating leverage. Operating revenue grew 33% YoY, led by a sharp 45% YoY rise in ARR income, while disciplined cost control reduced the cost-to-income ratio by 320bp YoY to 49.6%, supporting healthy profit growth. PAT grew 20% YoY despite a sharp decline in other income. Growth was fueled by strong net ARR inflows of ₹147b, with record AMC inflows and sustained momentum in wealth management driven by wallet share gains and carry income-led retention improvement. Management remains confident of further CI ratio improvement toward 45–46% as ET Money and HNI businesses move toward breakeven. Management guides for 22–24% AUM growth, translating into 21%/22% revenue/PAT CAGR over FY25-28.Canara HSBC LifeCanara HSBC Life Insurance represents a compelling banca-led compounding story, underpinned by strong distribution moats and significant headroom for efficiency-driven growth. The insurer has consistently outperformed the industry over the past decade by leveraging its deep bancassurance partnerships, led by Canara Bank and complemented by HSBC, which together provide access to a large, sticky, and increasingly segmented customer base.With penetration among Canara Bank customers still very low and branch productivity materially below private-bank peers, incremental gains from better analytics, digital enablement, and branch activation offer a long runway for growth at low acquisition cost. HSBC adds a high-quality layer through affluent, NRI, salary, and corporate customers, supporting superior persistency and value accretion. Alongside this, gradual diversification into agency and other channels improves reach and reduces concentration risk without materially diluting long-term economics. A favorable shift in product mix toward non-par and protection, improving operating efficiency, and rising scale are driving steady expansion in value creation metrics, positioning Canara HSBC Life as a structurally improving, capital-efficient life insurer with sustained growth visibility and strong return potential over the medium term.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)

China’s economy grew by 5% last year, as record exports helped the world’s second largest economy meet its annual target.

Beijing had set a goal of “around 5%” economic growth in 2025, despite struggles to boost domestic spending and a prolonged property crisis.

China reported the world’s largest-ever trade surplus last week – the value of goods and services sold overseas compared to its imports – of $1.19tn (£890bn), driven by a rise in exports to markets outside the US, as President Donald Trump continued his tariffs policy.

But official figures released on Monday also showed that China’s economic growth slowed to a rate of 4.5% in the final three months of 2025 compared to a year earlier.

As well as China’s exporters moving away from the American market, China’s economic resilience was helped by lower-than-expected US tariffs after Beijing and Washington agreed a tariffs pause.

While China’s manufacturers continued to boost exports, the country is grappling with a number of issues in its domestic economy.

The country has been struggling with an ongoing property crisis and rising local government debt, which has made businesses more hesitant to invest and consumers cautious about spending.

Other new data on Monday showed that new home prices continued to fall in December, as the government struggled to stabilise the property market. Prices dropped 2.7% last month compared to a year earlier, the sharpest decline in five months. Property investment also fell 17.2% last year.

At the same time retail sales rose by just 0.9% in December, the slowest rate in three years.

But the country’s factory output increased by 5.2% in December from a year earlier, beating the 4.8% growth in November.

China’s leaders have pledged “proactive” policies this year as they look to increase domestic spending and shift reliance away from exports and investments.

New Delhi: Even as the United States threatens higher tariffs, a few Indian companies have increased crude oil imports from Russia. The purchases come at a time when overall Russian oil imports into India have fallen because of international restrictions.

Government-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Nayara Energy, which is linked with Rosneft, have raised their procurement from Russia this month. The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), one of India’s major state-owned oil and gas companies, has also continued buying, though in smaller volumes. Reliance Industries, the biggest Russian oil buyer last year, has not purchased any crude from Russia this month.

Data from analytics firm Kpler shows that in the first half of January, India imported an average of 1.18 million barrels per day from Russia. This is nearly 30 percent lower than the same period last year and below the 2025 monthly average. Compared with December 2025, imports are down by around three percent.

Which Companies Bought Russian Oil

US sanctions have reduced the number of Indian buyers for Russian crude. So far, only the IOC, the Nayara Energy and the BPCL have imported Russian crude this month. The IOC accounts for nearly half a million barrels per day, roughly 43 percent of total Russian crude arriving in India. This is its highest purchase since May 2024 and 64 percent above its 2025 monthly average.

Nayara Energy ranks second, buying about 471,000 barrels per day. That represents 40 percent of Russian crude arriving in India. This is its largest purchase in at least two years and 56 percent higher than its 2025 average.

The BPCL has bought approximately 200,000 barrels per day, slightly above its 2025 average of 185,000 barrels per day.

Companies Not Buying Russian Oil

Reliance Industries has not purchased Russian crude this month. Other companies that stayed out include the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, the HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd and the Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd.

Russian suppliers have increased discounts on crude because of falling demand from some Indian and Chinese buyers. Industry officials say that the discount on Russian Urals crude delivered to Indian ports has risen to about $5-6 per barrel. Before US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil in October, the discount was around $2 per barrel.

The IOC has increased its January purchases to take advantage of the cheaper prices.