DayStarter

Market snapshot

Equities: Friday close

The Nifty opened 97 points lower at 24,536 as global markets softened slightly and oil prices moved up.

The index recovered from the opening fall and moved towards 24,625 to 24,630 during the first hour. Selling returned around 10 am and pushed the Nifty back towards 24,560.

For most of the first half, the index traded between 24,540 and 24,590.

Trading remained choppy in the afternoon. The Nifty briefly recovered towards 24,580 before touching an intraday low of around 24,525 at 2 pm.

A late recovery helped reduce some of the losses. The Nifty closed at 24,570.65, around 70 points below the previous close.

Sector performance

Auto was the strongest sector, rising 1.84%. IT gained 1.42%, while PSU Bank rose 0.65%.

Consumer Durables was the weakest sector, falling 0.72%. Services declined 0.66%, while Bank fell 0.55%.

F&O winners and losers

Motherson was the strongest F&O stock, rising 8.71%. Aurobindo Pharma gained 4.35%, while Fortis rose 3.82%.

Crompton was the biggest loser, falling 7.43%. Bajaj Finance declined 5.84%.

Index performance across time periods

Broader indices have performed better than the Nifty and Sensex over longer periods.

The Nifty Next 50 was up 12.60% over one year, while the BSE Mid-cap index was up 9.74% and the BSE Small Cap index was up 7.97%.

The Nifty 50 was almost flat over one year and remained 6.01% lower over six months.

Commodities

Silver rose 3.59%, while gold gained 1.59%.

Crude oil futures fell 0.66%. Natural gas and zinc also declined.

Currency and bond yields

USDINR fell slightly to 95.25.

The US 10-year bond yield rose 1.30% to 4.67. India’s 10-year yield remained around 6.77.

The rupee had reached a record low of 96.96 against the US dollar on 20 May.

Institutional flows

Foreign institutional investors bought Indian equities worth a net ₹480 crore on 7 August.

Domestic institutional investors were net buyers of ₹236 crore.

Over the five sessions ending 7 August, FIIs bought a net ₹2,887 crore, while DIIs bought ₹7,768 crore.

Derivatives activity after the new closing auction

Futures and options activity fell during the first week of SEBI’s new closing-price system.

The new mechanism uses a closing auction for 208 stocks that are available for derivatives trading. It replaces the earlier system, where the official closing price was based on the volume-weighted average price during the final 30 minutes of trading.

Average daily volumes in Nifty and Bank Nifty index futures fell 40% to 69,982 contracts in the week ending 7 August.

The 7 August figure covers the week since the closing auction was introduced. Volumes are single-sided.

Index call-option buying on 4 August was 151.9 million contracts, down 16% from 180.6 million contracts on 28 July. Purchased put-option volumes were 10% lower than in the previous week.

The combined NSE and BSE closing-auction value on 3 August, the first day of the new system, was ₹1,287 crore. Under the earlier system, ₹5,000 crore to ₹6,000 crore was normally traded during the final 15 minutes.

As of 30 June, NSE had 99.7% of the equity futures market and 69.4% of the equity options market.

The auction takes place from 3:15 pm to 3:30 pm. The official closing price is published at 3:35 pm, and futures and options are settled using that price.

Continuous cash-market trading now ends at 3:15 pm, while derivatives continue trading until 3:40 pm.

Kotak Arbitrage Fund had an annualised return of 6.64% on the 28 July derivatives expiry date, compared with 7.25% for the Nifty 50 arbitrage benchmark. On the first day of the closing auction, the fund’s annualised return was 7%, compared with 7.75% for the benchmark.

Mint, Mark to Market; NSE

Lead story: US tariffs on generic medicines

US tariffs on generic medicines

The US has proposed a tariff system intended to encourage generic-drug manufacturers to shift production to the United States.

Imported generic medicines would remain duty-free until August 2028. After that, the proposed tariff would rise to 100% and eventually to 200%.

India supplies nearly half of the generic medicines imported into the US.

The tariff proposal follows a US Commerce Department review under Section 232. The review argued that dependence on imported drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients creates risks to US healthcare security.

US pharmaceutical imports more than doubled over 10 years to $214 billion in 2025. Generic medicines account for around 90% of prescriptions in the US.

India supplies 47% of generic drugs imported into the US by volume, or around 30% by value.

Mint; howindialives.com

Impact on Indian pharmaceutical companies

After the tariff proposal was announced on 22 July, the Nifty Pharma index fell 1.31%. Eighteen of its 20 stocks closed lower.

By 5 August, Aurobindo Pharma and Cipla had risen around 3% to 4%, while Lupin and Mankind had fallen more than 4%.

Lupin earns around 42% of its revenue from the US. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories earns around 34% from the US. Generic-drug exporters usually operate with margins of only around 10% to 15%.

India also depends heavily on China for pharmaceutical inputs. China supplies 66% to 86% of India’s active pharmaceutical ingredients, and 70% to 75% of key starting materials.

Chinese APIs are estimated to cost 35% to 40% less than Indian alternatives. Manufacturing generic medicines in India is estimated to cost around 30% to 50% less than producing them in the US.

Mint; Niti Aayog

Indian pharma investment in the US

Under Section 232, companies that build manufacturing facilities in the US can apply to the Commerce Department for a lower tariff rate of 20% over four years for branded products.

Several Indian pharmaceutical companies have already expanded in the US:

• Sun Pharma agreed to buy New Jersey-based Organon & Co. for $11.75 billion in cash earlier this year.
• Aurobindo Pharma completed a $250 million acquisition of Lannett Company in June.
• Zydus Lifesciences acquired two biologics facilities in California from Agenus in January.

Mint; howindialives.com

Macro view

Russian oil and possible US sanctions

India’s government-owned oil refiners are preparing for higher crude-oil costs and tighter supplies for deliveries after September.

The risk comes from possible new US tariffs on countries that continue importing Russian oil.

The US Senate passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 on Friday. The legislation would allow the US president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries among the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas, including India and China.

Russian crude accounts for around 48% of imports by India’s state-owned refiners.

India’s crude-oil import bill rose 60% year-on-year to nearly $49.8 billion during April to June. Import volumes fell to around 60 million tonnes from 62.6 million tonnes a year earlier.

India imports nearly 90% of its crude-oil requirement. Every $1 per barrel increase in crude prices adds around ₹18,000 crore to India’s annual import bill. Expensive spot purchases already account for around 85% of India’s crude imports because of supply constraints.

Kpler said the US Senate vote increased policy risk around Russian crude flows but had not changed its near-term outlook for Indian or Chinese purchases because the measures still face legislative and administrative hurdles.

Mint; Kpler

India-UK trade agreement

Indian startups are increasingly looking at the UK as an alternative market for international expansion.

At least six startups said they either plan to enter the UK or opened offices there this year. These include GoodMelts, Fynd, DevRev and PaySmart Payment Technologies.

The new India-UK trade agreement removes tariffs on nearly 99% of tariff lines covering Indian exports to the UK.

There were 1,912 Indian-owned companies operating in the UK in 2026, up from 1,197 in 2025.

In October 2025, bilateral trade was around $56 billion. The two countries aim to double this by 2030.

The Double Contribution Convention also removes duplicate UK social-security contributions for eligible workers and employers. The measure is expected to save Indian companies and employees more than ₹4,000 crore. The exemption for workers temporarily sent to the UK will apply for up to 60 months.

Mint; Grant Thornton

Non-fossil electricity capacity

India’s installed non-fossil power capacity crossed 300 GW.

As of 31 July, total non-fossil capacity was 300.50 GW.

India’s total installed electricity-generation capacity was around 552 GW. Non-fossil sources therefore represented around 54% of installed capacity.

India added a record 55.29 GW of non-fossil capacity in 2025-26. This included 44.6 GW of solar capacity and 6 GW of wind.

Mint; Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Border highway programme

The government is preparing a programme to build more than 5,000 kilometres of highways in border regions over the next three to five years. The programme could involve more than ₹2 trillion of investment.

It is expected to focus on strategic roads near India’s borders with China, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar.

Projects will be prioritised using traffic levels, connectivity requirements, road conditions and strategic importance under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan.

Over the past five years, 3,318 km of national highway projects aimed at improving border connectivity were awarded. Of this, 1,301 km has been built.

Across India, 1,191 national highway projects covering around 25,917 km are currently under construction. These projects cost around ₹7.15 trillion. Around 3,100 km of this work is in border regions.

Road transport carries nearly 65% of India’s freight and around 90% of passenger traffic. Tolling these border highways may be difficult because many vehicles could belong to the government or defence forces. Engineering, Procurement and Construction or Hybrid Annuity Model contracts may therefore be more appropriate.

Mint; Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Finance, credit, and policy

Bank interest margins

Indian banks have seen some pressure on interest margins.

The banking sector’s net interest margin was 3.21% in June 2026, down from 3.26% a year earlier.

Net interest margin measures the difference between the interest a bank earns and the interest it pays, relative to its earning assets.

State Bank of India maintained its FY27 NIM guidance of 3% after reporting a margin of 2.86% in the June quarter. Axis Bank’s NIM fell to 3.46% from 3.62% in the previous quarter and 3.80% a year earlier.

HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank increased rates on FCNR deposits, offering returns of up to 6.25%. Bank operating expenses rose 3.9% in Q1FY27. The RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% at its latest policy meeting.

Mint; RBI

FCNR deposits at foreign banks

Foreign banks held only $603 million in FCNR(B) deposits on 5 June when the RBI announced its concessional dollar-swap facility. By 30 July, this had increased to $8.97 billion.

HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank India led the inflows.

On an outstanding basis, private-sector banks held $25.7 billion in FCNR deposits, up 72%, while public-sector banks held $25.6 billion, up 53%.

Mint

Proposed restrictions on NBFC revolving credit

The RBI’s proposed rules for revolving credit lines could affect loan growth and profitability at NBFCs, particularly Bajaj Finance and Tata Capital.

The proposed framework would limit NBFCs to term loans with fixed repayment schedules and sanctioned limits that do not automatically replenish after repayment. This could force NBFCs to redesign reusable credit products. It could also affect customer acquisition, fee income and lending yields.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Foreign investment approval threshold

The government is considering raising the value of foreign direct investment proposals that require approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The threshold could rise from ₹5,000 crore to ₹15,000 crore.

The current limit has been unchanged since November 2015. The government is also considering easier FDI rules for downstream investments.

Mint

Silver jewellery hallmarking

The Bureau of Indian Standards plans to increase testing capacity for silver jewellery as high gold prices shift some demand towards silver.

The number of hallmarked silver-jewellery items increased from 3.2 million in 2024-25 to 5.9 million in 2025-26.

Mint; Bureau of Indian Standards

El Niño and food inflation risks

S&P Global Ratings said economies including India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines remain vulnerable to weather-related supply shocks linked to El Niño.

The main channels include lower agricultural production, higher food inflation, lower hydropower generation, and vegetation fires and haze.

The RBI also said the weak and uneven south-west monsoon under El Niño conditions creates risks for agriculture and rural demand. The RBI expects retail inflation of 5% in FY27.

Mint; S&P Global Ratings

Rainfall outlook

Heavy to very heavy rain is expected across parts of north-western and central India. Rainfall in eastern states is expected to increase from 13 August.

A low-pressure system may develop over the north Bay of Bengal and the adjoining West Bengal-Bangladesh coast around 13 August.

Mint; India Meteorological Department

Electric vehicle sales

India’s electric-vehicle retail sales reached a record 3.28 lakh units in July. Sales increased 66% year-on-year. EVs represented almost one in eight vehicles sold.

Economic calendar

The week ahead also includes IPO listings between 10 and 14 August, discussion in Parliament on proposed FCRA amendments on 12 August, the release of July retail inflation data on 12 August, and Independence Day on 15 August.

Corporate action and earnings

Banks and financials

State Bank of India

State Bank of India’s Q1FY27 net profit rose 10.2% year-on-year to ₹21,121 crore. Net interest income increased 14.9% to ₹46,992 crore.

Asset quality improved. The gross NPA ratio fell to 1.47% from 1.83%. The net NPA ratio declined to 0.38% from 0.47%.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

IDFC First Bank fraud

A ₹646 crore fraud at IDFC First Bank’s Chandigarh branch led managing director and chief executive V. Vaidyanathan to travel to Chandigarh within days of the incident becoming public.

The fraud was discovered in February 2026. Employees at the branch allegedly worked with customer representatives and outsiders.

A forensic investigation by KPMG, called Project Ultra, concluded that the fraud was limited to the Chandigarh branch. The bank said it was a victim of the fraud and is working with investigating authorities.

It paid the affected amount, plus applicable interest, to the departments concerned and recognised the cost in its accounts during the March quarter of FY26. IDFC First Bank’s FY26 net profit rose 7% to ₹1,636 crore.

The bank then carried out a nationwide verification exercise. No other customer reported a discrepancy.

Mint

FMCG and consumer

FMCG demand

Large consumer-goods companies expect demand to improve after a weak June quarter. Companies are using carefully measured price increases to help maintain volume growth. Concerns about energy-linked costs and the effect of El Niño have also reduced.

During the June quarter, Brent crude rose to a record $126.41 per barrel from around $72 before the war. Hindustan Unilever increased prices by around 5% in some categories.

Retail inflation rose to an 18-month high of 4.38% in June. Marico chief executive Saugata Gupta said the rainfall deficit had narrowed from more than 35% at the end of June to 13%. Hindustan Unilever management said on 28 July that only around 15% of the country now depends on agriculture.

Mint; Company presentations

Godrej Consumer Products

Godrej Consumer Products’ Q1FY27 consolidated net profit rose 11.5% year-on-year to ₹505 crore. Revenue increased 18.3% to ₹4,225 crore. Underlying volume growth was 9%. The Africa business also performed strongly.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Britannia Industries

Britannia’s Q1FY27 operating revenue rose 9.5% year-on-year to ₹4,964 crore. Volumes increased 9%. Gross margin improved from a year earlier but fell sequentially to 41.5%. EBITDA margin also fell sequentially to 16.8%.

Low-unit-price packs account for around 60% of Britannia’s sales. Six important states that generate more than half of domestic revenue grew at 1.8 times the company’s FY26 growth rate during Q1FY27. E-commerce and quick-commerce grew at 2.5 times the rate of general trade.

Around half of commodity inflation was passed on through reductions in pack sizes during Q1FY27. This resulted in around 3% pricing growth. HDFC Securities expects margins to fall by around 50 basis points over the next two quarters because the comparison base is high. It expects low double-digit earnings growth.

Britannia shares were 13% below their 52-week high of ₹6,336 reached in September. The stock traded at around 43 times estimated FY28 earnings.

Mint; HDFC Securities

Titan Company

Titan’s Q1FY27 consolidated net profit rose 65% year-on-year to ₹1,699 crore. Revenue increased 24.3% to ₹18,101 crore.

The jewellery business grew 43%, helped by festival and Akshaya Tritiya demand. The watches business grew 21%. Premiumisation and demand for analogue watches helped growth, despite weakness in smartwatches.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Wakefit Innovations

Wakefit’s consolidated revenue from operations rose 16.6% to ₹405 crore during April to June. Net profit increased 19.2% to ₹23.3 crore. Mattress revenue rose 27.3% year-on-year.

Wakefit added 27 company-owned stores during the quarter, taking the network to 165 outlets. Its multi-brand presence increased to 2,250 stores across 701 cities. The company is investing around ₹100 crore in each new large-format furniture store.

Mint

Autos and mobility

Hero MotoCorp

Hero MotoCorp’s Q1FY27 consolidated net profit fell 16.9% year-on-year to ₹1,418 crore. The decline was mainly because the previous-year quarter included a one-time gain of ₹722 crore.

Revenue rose 34.9% to ₹13,126 crore. Two-wheeler sales increased 23% to 16.77 lakh units.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Ola Electric

Ola Electric reduced its Q1FY27 net loss by 21% to ₹336 crore. A recovery in volumes raised its market share to 8.4% from 5.1% in the previous quarter. Orders nearly doubled from the previous quarter to 44,071 units. Deliveries increased 94% to 39,192 units. Automotive revenue rose 72% to ₹455 crore. The company has shifted towards a dealership-based model to expand its retail presence.

Ola Electric’s auditor also raised a concern about the company reversing a ₹57 crore penalty provision before receiving a formal waiver. The provision related to missed deadlines under a battery manufacturing incentive scheme. Removing the provision reduced expenses and lowered the reported loss. Without the reversal, Ola Electric’s net loss would have been ₹393 crore.

Ola was selected in 2022 to build 20 GWh of lithium-ion battery-cell capacity under the PLI programme. It later reduced its planned capacity to 6 GWh. Since listing in August 2024, Ola Electric shares have fallen 46%, while the Nifty Auto index has risen 17%. The company’s market share fell from around 35% in FY24 to 8% in June 2026.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint

Hyundai Motor India

Hyundai expects exports to recover from the second quarter of FY27. Exports fell 19.6% to 38,708 units in Q1FY27 from 48,140 units a year earlier. The decline reflected the West Asia war and a temporary production disruption after a fire at supplier Mobis.

Mint; PTI

Real estate, deals and listings

Hotels

Hotel demand improved in May and June. Occupancy was 63% to 65% in May, up 6 to 8 percentage points from a year earlier, and 64% to 66% in June, up 3 to 5 percentage points.

Revenue per available room rose 22% to 24% year-on-year in May to ₹4,977 to ₹5,265, and 17% to 19% in June to ₹5,056 to ₹5,346. Listed hotel companies reported Q1 revenue growth ranging from around 7% to 28%.

Between January and May, 179 hotel properties with around 20,000 rooms were signed. Indian Hotels Company expanded its pipeline to 255 properties. ITC Hotels acquired the 130-room Welcomhotel Ahmedabad for an enterprise value of ₹155 crore. SAMHI Hotels bought Itmenaan Estate in Almora for ₹12 crore. Chalet Hotels completed the acquisition of Seasons Hotels for ₹171 crore.

ITC Hotels reported room revenue growth of 8%, food and beverage revenue growth of 11%, and management fee income growth of 35%.

Mint; HVS Anarock

Godrej Properties

Godrej Properties expects to generate more than ₹20,000 crore of operating cash flow during the current and next financial years. Sales bookings rose 22% to ₹8,651 crore in the June quarter. This was the sixth consecutive quarter in which sales bookings exceeded ₹7,000 crore.

Mint; PTI

Alta Capital warehouse acquisitions

Alta Capital’s logistics platform is buying warehouses in three major cities from Singapore-based Xander Investment Management for around ₹2,000 crore. Its Logicap unit acquired 2.6 million square feet in Chennai and Kolkata for approximately ₹1,500 crore. It plans to acquire another 1 million square feet in Bhiwandi near Mumbai. The acquisitions will increase its portfolio to around 25 million square feet.

India’s modern warehousing stock exceeded 610 million square feet in 2025. Grade A institutional facilities represented 38% of the total. Total warehouse inventory is expected to reach 850 million square feet by 2030. India’s logistics sector is projected to reach $540 billion by 2030.

Mint; JLL India

L&T Innovation Fund

Larsen & Toubro’s corporate venture capital arm, L&T Innovation Fund, is increasing its focus on Indian deeptech startups. The five-year-old fund has made eight investments globally. Its first investments are generally between $1 million and $10 million. It normally keeps its ownership below 20%.

Its overseas investments have generally been in companies at technology readiness levels 7 or 8. In India, it plans to invest earlier, at technology readiness levels 4 or 5.

Mint

Gaja Capital and deeptech

Gaja Alternative Asset Management is spending more time studying deeptech and artificial-intelligence investments.

Deeptech startups raised $2 billion across 179 deals in 2026 so far. This compares with $1.6 billion across 433 deals in 2025. In 2023, deeptech funding was $901 million across 468 deals.

Gaja Capital participated in a $75 million second tranche of AI company Sarvam’s Series B round. HCL Technologies led the round and took a 10.46% stake. Other investors included Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Peak XV Partners. The round valued Sarvam at $1.5 billion, compared with $111 million in 2023.

Gaja Capital filed an updated draft prospectus in December to raise ₹656 crore. This includes ₹549 crore of fresh shares and ₹107 crore through an offer for sale.

Mint; Tracxn

Dixon and Vivo

Dixon Technologies expects to complete its new joint venture with Vivo within two months. Revenue from the venture is expected to begin appearing in Dixon’s financial statements from the October to December quarter. The government approved the joint venture in the second week of July. Dixon and Vivo had signed a term sheet on 15 December 2024.

Mint; PTI

Connected TV advertising

India’s connected television advertising market is estimated at ₹2,300 crore to ₹2,500 crore. Interactive formats such as shoppable advertisements and QR-code experiences currently represent around 5% to 10% of total connected-TV advertising spending.

Mint

IPOs this week

Five companies are expected to launch IPOs this week. Their combined issue size is more than ₹7,400 crore, with total fundraising expected at around ₹7,443 crore. These issues will increase the number of companies launching IPOs in 2026 to 47.

Dhoot Transmission’s IPO includes a fresh issue of up to ₹1,400 crore. It also includes an offer for sale of up to 19.1 million shares by promoters BC Asia Investments XV, an entity of Bain Capital, and Mangalam Capital.

Molbio Diagnostics’ IPO includes a fresh issue of up to ₹200 crore and an offer for sale of up to 9.16 million shares. International Finance Corporation invested ₹20 crore as an anchor investor in Molbio. This is IFC’s return to India’s mainboard IPO market after its June 2021 investment in Dodla Dairy.

The IPOs of KKR-backed LEAP India and Technocraft Ventures are already open for subscription. More IPO announcements are expected, including from Blackstone-backed Horizon Industrial Parks, a Gaja Capital-backed company and Shankesh Jewellers.

Mint; PTI

India in numbers

Corporate actions: 10 August 2026

Earnings calendar

Global pulse

Global markets

Global markets were mixed.

The Shanghai Composite rose 1.02%, while the FTSE 100 gained 0.56% and Hang Seng rose 0.54%. The Dow Jones fell 0.85%.

Oil, the Strait of Hormuz and supply routes

Strait of Hormuz and oil

Crude oil traded around $77 per barrel. Prices moved between gains and losses as markets assessed negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz and renewed geopolitical tensions. Earlier optimism about a partial reopening weakened.

Iran reportedly wants to restrict US and Israeli vessels and charge fees to some countries. The US is seeking unrestricted passage. This leaves significant differences between the two sides.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said an agreement for a temporary shipping route was very close. However, he also criticised what he described as US violations of a short-lived interim peace agreement signed in June.

Iran repeated several conditions for fully reopening the strait. These include compensation, ending the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, withdrawal of US military forces from around Iran, removal of sanctions, and release of frozen Iranian assets. Any agreement would require approval from Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint

Attacks on Gulf oil infrastructure

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said missiles targeted one of its vessels early on Saturday. No injuries were reported. Three other ADNOC ships were attacked during the previous week.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels also claimed an attack on Saudi Aramco’s Jizan oil refinery using a drone. Saudi authorities said the resulting fire was put out and no one was injured.

Mint; WAM

Russia seeks an alternative transport route

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said Russia needs a railway route to the Indian Ocean. The aim would be to reduce dependence on strategically sensitive maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and Bosphorus Strait.

Around one-fifth of global energy supply normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Mint; PTI

US labour market and trade

US labour market

The US economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July. Economists had expected an increase of 80,000 jobs. June’s job gain was revised down to 20,000. Employment estimates for May and June were reduced by a combined 103,000 jobs. The figures point to a significant weakening in the US labour market.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

US tariffs on polysilicon products

The US introduced price floors and a 15% tariff on polysilicon-based products. Polysilicon is an important raw material for semiconductors and solar panels, and China is the dominant producer. The measures were introduced under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. The aim is to strengthen domestic US semiconductor and solar supply chains and reduce dependence on China.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

China inflation

China’s producer price inflation slowed in July. Producer prices rose 3.5% from a year earlier, compared with 4.1% in June. This was the first slowdown since producer-price inflation turned positive in March. Consumer inflation fell to 0.5% from 1%. Core consumer inflation declined to 0.9% from 1%.

Mint; Bloomberg

Global technology and corporates

Apple tests Chinese memory chips

Apple has been testing memory chips made by China’s CXMT for products including iPhones and MacBooks. The company is looking for alternatives as the AI boom creates shortages of some components. Apple held early discussions with CXMT about using its chips in some devices sold in China.

Reuters via Mint; The Wall Street Journal

Chinese solar investment in Cuba

Chinese solar panels have been installed across Cuba as the country faces an energy crisis. At least 41 medium-sized and 18 smaller solar parks were built during the past two years.

Solar power now supplies around 10% of Cuba’s electricity, up from 3% at the beginning of last year. China exported $117 million of equipment to Cuba in 2025, up from $3 million in 2023.

Mint; Dow Jones

Meta ordered to pay $567 million

A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a fund for teenage mental health. The court found the company responsible for harming children’s well-being through its platforms. It also ordered changes to how Meta’s platforms operate for younger users.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Airbnb

Airbnb shares rose 10.8% in after-hours trading after the company reported Q2 revenue above expectations. Global travel demand and first-time users during the FIFA World Cup helped growth.

Worldwide nights and seats booked increased 10% to 148.3 million. North American bookings recorded their strongest growth in almost three years. Demand from markets including India and Brazil partly offset pressure on international travel caused by the Iran conflict.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

SpaceX

SpaceX shares fell almost 14% in one session during the week. By Friday, the stock was still more than 20% above its level at the start of the week. The moves represented more than $300 billion of market-value fluctuation.

SpaceX reported $7.8 billion of quarterly sales. Chief executive Elon Musk said the company would end the year with more than 2 GW of AI computing capacity. By the end of next year, it expects capacity to be closer to 10 GW than 5 GW. Around 86% of the company’s recent capital expenditure was related to AI.

Mint; Dow Jones

Global numbers

$365.5 billion: Berkshire Hathaway’s cash balance in the June quarter, after net equity purchases reached almost $20 billion under chief executive Greg Abel.

3,323: Indian citizens deported from Canada during the first half of 2026, compared with 3,779 during all of 2025.

Mint News Wrap

Management commentary

On the Indian economy

Mint; PTI

On competitiveness at the mass end

Mint

On crude-linked inflation

Mint

On the Chandigarh branch fraud

Mint

On a listing and profitability

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

On margins and acquisitions

Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Feature: GIFT Nifty

What GIFT Nifty is

GIFT Nifty is a US dollar-denominated futures contract based on the Nifty 50. It trades on the NSE International Exchange at GIFT City in Gujarat.

NSE IX also offers derivatives based on GIFT Nifty 50, GIFT Nifty Bank, GIFT Nifty Financial Services and GIFT Nifty IT. These contracts provide one market for trading US dollar-denominated derivatives linked to major Indian indices.

Business Standard; Business Today

NSE International Exchange

NSE IX was established at GIFT City on 5 June 2017. It is recognised by the International Financial Services Centres Authority. NSE IX says it has more than 99.7% market share in GIFT IFSC.

The exchange offers Indian single-stock derivatives, index derivatives, currency derivatives, depository receipts and global stocks.

NSE India

From SGX Nifty to GIFT Nifty

Before GIFT Nifty, similar Nifty contracts were traded in Singapore as SGX Nifty. These contracts were shifted from the Singapore Exchange to GIFT City through a connection between NSE and SGX.

SGX Nifty derivatives stopped trading on the Singapore Exchange on 30 June 2023. Full operations of the NSE IX-SGX GIFT Connect started on 3 July 2023. GIFT Nifty began trading on NSE IX at 6:30 am that day.

Business Standard; Business Today

How the trading arrangement works

International investors place orders through SGX IFSC India Connect. These orders are sent to NSE IX for trading and execution. Clearing and settlement are handled through NSE IFSC Clearing Corporation. SGX Group’s Derivatives Clearing acts as the central counterparty. NSE and Singapore Exchange share revenues from the arrangement.

Business Today

Trading hours

GIFT Nifty is available for almost 21 hours each day across two sessions.

The long trading window overlaps with market hours in Asia, Europe and the US.

Who can trade GIFT Nifty

GIFT Nifty is mainly intended for foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians and eligible foreign entities.

Indian residents cannot directly use money remitted under the RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme to trade leveraged derivatives abroad.

PL Capital

How GIFT Nifty is used

GIFT Nifty starts trading at 6:30 am, before India’s domestic stock market opens. Its movement is therefore often used as an early indication of how Indian equities may open.

The move from SGX Nifty to GIFT Nifty also changed where the trading activity is recorded. Turnover that was previously generated offshore in Singapore is now generated at GIFT City in India.

Business Today

Scale before and after the transition

SGX Nifty futures generated average daily turnover of $3.9 billion and average open interest of $9.6 billion in 2022. Since the transition, GIFT Nifty has recorded several large trading milestones.

On 24 July 2023, contract volume had increased more than 530% from the first day of full operations. Turnover had increased more than 600%.

The $15.25 billion record daily turnover reported in September 2023 was equal to around ₹1.27 lakh crore. It exceeded the previous record of $12.98 billion set on 29 August 2023.

On 24 October 2025, NSE IX reported record open interest of 410,100 contracts. The contracts were worth $21.23 billion, or around ₹1,86,226 crore.

Business Today; NSE India

The day at a glance

Closing thought

Compiled from the Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 7 August 2026 close, and Mint, Mumbai edition, 10 August 2026. Market data reflects the Friday, 7 August 2026 close. For information only. Not investment analysis.