DayStarter

Market snapshot

Equities, sectors, commodities, currency, bonds and institutional flows – 22 July 2026 close.

Equities and sectors

The Nifty opened 38 points lower at 24,150 as crude oil prices moved up again. It fell towards 24,020 during the first 30 minutes and moved below 24,000 at around 10:30 AM. By the end of the first half, it was near 23,980.

The index touched an intraday low near 23,965 at around 12:30 PM. It then remained between 23,970 and 24,000 for most of the afternoon. A move above 24,020 during the final 30 minutes did not last, and the Nifty closed at 23,996.25.

The Sensex fell 715.06 points, while the Nifty 50 fell 191.45 points. The Nifty opened at 24,150.45, reached a high of 24,166.30 and touched a low of 23,961.40. The Sensex opened at its daily high of 77,384.95 and fell as low as 76,641.19.

The Nifty 500 closed at 23,145.05, down 0.89%. The Nifty 100 ended at 25,069.65, down 0.77%. The BSE 150 MidCap fell 1.05% to 16,881.10, while the BSE 250 SmallCap fell 1.39% to 7,024.38.

Sectoral indices

FMCG and Auto were the only sectors in the table to close higher. Media, Realty, PSU Bank, IT, Pharma and Bank were among the weakest sectors.

Drugmakers also fell. Lupin ended 4.4% lower. The Nifty Pharma index opened at 25,935.45 and closed at 25,752.25, compared with its previous close of 26,092.85. The index fell around 1.3%, compared with a 0.8% fall in the Nifty 50.

Top gainers and losers among F&O stocks

Bajaj Auto led the gainers, up 5.92% at 11,019.00, reaching a new 52-week high. Among the losers, BANDHANBNK fell 16.63% to 174.10.

Major stock moves

• Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor: Both shares gained more than 3%. Bajaj Auto reached a new 52-week high. Zerodha’s F&O data shows Bajaj Auto up 5.92% at 11,019.00 and TVS Motor up 3.30% at 3,917.00.
• Nestlé India: The stock rose as much as 3.94% to a 52-week high of ₹1,509 on the NSE after its June-quarter results. It closed at 1,500.00, up 3.31%.
• Vedanta: The stock ended 0.9% lower at ₹262.50 on the NSE after a Delhi High Court ruling. It had opened at ₹264.85.
• Eternal: The stock closed 1.15% lower at ₹283.40 on the BSE.
• Adani Green Energy: The stock ended around 4.5% lower at ₹1,472 on the NSE. Zerodha recorded a 4.53% decline.
• One 97 Communications: Paytm’s parent company fell around 6% after its June-quarter results. This followed a rally of nearly 18% during July.

Mint; Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Commodities

Crude oil

WTI crude oil rose more than 4% and traded above $87 per barrel, its highest level in six weeks. Prices moved up as tensions between the US and Iran increased concerns about supply disruptions. The rise followed the eleventh consecutive night of US strikes on Iranian military targets and continuing concerns about commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 22 July 2026 close

Currency and bond yields

The rupee weakened against the US dollar, with USDINR rising to 96.60 from 96.30. The US 10-year bond yield increased to 4.62%, while India’s 10-year bond yield rose to 6.80%.

Institutional flows

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of ₹4,872 crore over these five trading days. Domestic institutional investors were net buyers of ₹4,241 crore.

The RBI said net foreign portfolio investment flows turned positive in June and remained positive during July. It linked the improvement to policy measures and lower geopolitical tensions. Indian equity markets also gained in June and early July as sentiment improved.

Mint, 23 July 2026

Thematic indices

The Zerodha AfterMarket Report for 22 July 2026 did not include a thematic indices section. The original report refers to the NSE and BSE portals or the Tijori App for thematic index performance.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 22 July 2026 close; Mint, Mumbai edition, 23 July 2026

The macro view

Economic activity, emerging markets, energy and infrastructure, and agriculture – from Mint’s Economy & Policy and Plain Facts pages.

Economic activity: Icra monitor reaches a 32-month high

Icra’s Business Activity Monitor reached a 32-month high in June. Its composite index of high-frequency indicators grew 12% year-on-year, compared with 9.4% in May. Thirteen of the 16 indicators grew faster during the month.

Several factors helped economic activity. The temporary US-Iran ceasefire reduced disruptions. A 40% rainfall deficit in June allowed construction and mining activity to continue for longer. Favourable base effects also helped several indicators.

Some indicators were weaker. Domestic airline passenger traffic fell 1% year-on-year in June after growing 9.5% in May. Growth in finished steel consumption slowed to 7.8% from 9.7%. Electricity generation growth slowed to 9.8%.

Under the revised data series, core industries grew 5% in June. This was the fastest growth in five months and was helped by stronger coal, iron ore, refinery and cement production. Icra expects the Index of Industrial Production to grow 5-6% in June, compared with 5.1% in May.

Icra expects GDP growth to slow to 6.4-6.6% in Q1FY27 from 7.7% in the previous quarter. Higher input costs may reduce corporate profits and gross value added across sectors. Icra also warned that renewed conflict between the US and Iran could reverse some of June’s improvement by disrupting energy markets and global supply chains. Any effect is likely to appear in the next edition of the monitor.

Mint, Economy & Policy, 23 July 2026, reporting by Dhirendra Kumar

Emerging Markets Tracker: India remains first in June

India remained first in Mint’s Emerging Markets Tracker in June. However, the scores differ within the source.

The article gives India a score of 82.3, ahead of China at 70.4 and Vietnam at 70. The table published on the same page gives India a score of 82.2, China 70.2 and Vietnam 69.8. Both sets of figures are retained as published.

India’s GDP grew 7.8% in the March quarter. This was the second-fastest growth among the countries tracked, behind Vietnam. Manufacturing PMI was 54.2, merchandise exports grew 15.5% year-on-year and foreign exchange reserves were enough to cover 9.7 months of imports. Retail inflation rose to 4.4%.

The rupee appreciated 0.6% against the US dollar in June after weakening during 11 of the previous 12 months. Indian equities also gained for a third consecutive month. By 21 July, however, the rupee had fallen 0.8% during the month, while stock market capitalisation had risen 1.8%.

China remained second. Its exports grew 26.9%, inflation was low at 1% and foreign exchange reserves covered 13.2 months of imports. Vietnam remained close behind, with GDP growth of 8.2% and export growth of 28.5%.

Despite renewed tensions in West Asia, several economists and market forecasters raised India’s FY27 GDP growth forecasts by 20-50 basis points to 6.5-7.1%. Their forecasts for the current account deficit improved to around 1.2-1.7% of GDP, compared with 2.2-2.4% two months earlier. A current account deficit means the country pays more abroad through trade, services and transfers than it earns.

Mint, Plain Facts, 23 July 2026, reporting by Payal Bhattacharya

Energy and infrastructure

Coal inventories at India’s thermal power plants are falling because of strong electricity demand and monsoon-related problems in coal production and transport. As of 20 July, power plants held around 40.7 million tonnes of coal, enough for about 13 days of operations. Peak electricity demand was close to 270 GW on 17 July.

In May, plants had around 53 million tonnes of coal, enough for 19 days. Power demand had then reached a record 270.8 GW.

Power demand eased to 250 GW by 21 July, but the energy shortage had worsened over the previous few days. It reached 23 million units on 19 July. Punjab, Haryana and Goa were the states facing the largest shortages.

Union coal and mines minister G. Kishan Reddy launched a corpus of around ₹40,000 crore for scientific mine closures. The government plans to close 147 coal mines over the next two to three years.

ONGC is planning India’s first strategic natural gas reserve near its gas-producing assets in western India. India imports around 55% of its natural gas needs, valued at approximately $15 billion each year. The plan follows ONGC’s announcement of a 1.75 million-tonne strategic crude oil storage facility. India currently has strategic petroleum reserves of 5.2 million tonnes.

Natural gas imports were worth $14.9 billion in FY25, with Qatar providing around 50%. Natural gas currently makes up about 7% of India’s energy basket. The government wants to raise this to 15% by 2030.

Natural gas consumption is projected to reach 297-365 mmscmd by 2030 and 495-630 mmscmd by 2040. Industrial and commercial demand is expected to grow 10-15% by 2030. India currently has eight operational onshore LNG terminals with total regasification capacity of 52.7 mmtpa.

Mint, Economy & Policy and Corporate, 23 July 2026, reporting by Rituraj Baruah

Agriculture and the monsoon

Cotton had been planted across 9.253 million hectares as of 17 July. This was 5.96% lower than the 9.839 million hectares planted during the same period last year.

Maharashtra, India’s largest cotton producer, recorded a 6.82% fall in acreage to 3.421 million hectares. Gujarat’s acreage fell 9.76% to 1.675 million hectares.

By contrast, cotton acreage in Telangana rose 6.62% to 1.664 million hectares. Andhra Pradesh recorded a 34.2% increase to 275,000 hectares.

Cotton acreage has remained around 11.5 million hectares over the past two years, but production has declined from 33.66 million bales in FY23 to 29.024 million bales in FY26.

The government has waived the cotton import duty of around 11% until October 2026. Cotton accounts for around 80% of the fibre used by India’s textile sector and approximately 65% of apparel production.

Mint, Economy & Policy, 23 July 2026, reporting by Dhirendra Kumar

Policy and regulation

• SEBI margin proposal: SEBI is considering removing upfront margins on buy trades funded with proceeds from shares sold on the same day under the early pay-in mechanism. The proposal was discussed by SEBI’s risk management review committee, but the talks are still preliminary and no final decision has been made. Brokers currently need to fund the applicable upfront margin, generally around 20% depending on the stock. Since an October 2024 revision, investors have been able to use sale proceeds on the same day. Before that change, only 80% of sale proceeds were available on the trade date.
• DGCA: The civil aviation ministry has reprimanded the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for failing to prevent officials from using their influence to help family members obtain jobs in the sector. The ministry also raised concerns about delays in disclosing such placements. Government documents show that it has raised warnings about the issue since mid-2025.
• Airport operators and airlines: India is considering allowing airport operators to run airlines. This could allow the Adani Group and GMR Airports Ltd to operate their own carriers. Current rules prevent airport operators from holding more than 10% of an airline.
• US-India trade agreement: A senior US official said a long-awaited trade agreement between the US and India could be signed within three to four months. The remaining step is the completion of Washington’s Section 301 trade investigations.
• India-China relations: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar told Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi that peace and tranquillity along the border are a “prerequisite” for normal relations. He also raised concerns about market access, the trade imbalance and supply-chain uncertainty. India and China had finalised a disengagement agreement for Depsang and Demchok in October 2024.
• Quad meeting: Jaishankar said India remains committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific and recognises Asean’s central role in the region. The meeting in Manila included US secretary of state Marco Rubio, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong and Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi.

Mint; Reuters; PTI, 23 July 2026

Public health

The Centre is treating covid-19 as a seasonal respiratory illness similar to influenza. It is monitoring a recent increase in cases in a few southern states, but officials said there is no evidence of a more dangerous variant or a wider public-health threat.

State-level data is limited because the Centre’s covid-19 dashboard is no longer operating. Reports said Andhra Pradesh recorded 26 cases and four deaths, while Kerala recorded 19 cases in July.

Laboratory surveillance and routine genomic sequencing have not found new variants or concerning mutations in India or globally. Officials said deaths among covid-positive patients in some southern states were mostly incidental.

Mint, Economy & Policy, 23 July 2026, reporting by Priyanka Sharma

Corporate action and earnings

June-quarter earnings, other results, and corporate, deal and startup developments.

June-quarter earnings

BPCL: figures differ across sources

Zerodha reported that BPCL recorded a Q1FY27 consolidated net loss of ₹1,873 crore, compared with a profit of ₹6,839 crore a year earlier. Weak fuel marketing margins outweighed better refining margins. Revenue from operations rose 23% year-on-year to ₹1.59 lakh crore, while refinery throughput fell 3% to 10.15 million tonnes.

Mint’s Reuters report said BPCL posted its first loss in 15 quarters. It reported a net loss of ₹3,962 crore, or $410.5 million, for the quarter ended 30 June, compared with a profit of ₹6,124 crore a year earlier. Average Brent crude prices were around 45% higher than in the previous year. Total expenses rose around 36% to ₹1.66 trillion, while the cost of raw materials consumed increased 68.7%.

Both readings are shown as published and have not been reconciled.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint and Reuters

Eternal: figures differ across sources

Zerodha reported a Q1FY27 consolidated net profit of ₹92 crore. Profit was more than three times the year-earlier level but 47% lower than in the previous quarter. Revenue rose to ₹20,211 crore, up 17% quarter-on-quarter and more than twice the year-earlier level. EBITDA increased 22% quarter-on-quarter to ₹594 crore, while the EBITDA margin improved to 2.9%.

Mint reported consolidated revenue of ₹20,211 crore, up 182% year-on-year. This was above the average estimate of ₹19,947 crore from 24 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Net profit rose 5% to ₹92 crore but was below the ₹300 crore consensus estimate based on 21 forecasts. Higher taxes and investment in newer businesses offset stronger operating profit.

Blinkit’s revenue increased more than six times year-on-year to ₹15,664 crore. The increase was helped by Eternal’s move to an inventory-led, or 1P, business model.

Blinkit accounted for around 77.5% of consolidated revenue, compared with 76.5% in the March quarter. Food delivery contributed 15.3%, down from 15.8%, while Hyperpure contributed 5.1%, compared with 5.7%.

Net order value rose 86% to ₹17,132 crore. Adjusted EBITDA improved for a fifth consecutive quarter to 0.6% of net order value. This represented a profit of ₹102 crore, compared with a loss of ₹162 crore a year earlier.

Mint; Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Other earnings

• Nestlé India: Net profit rose around 48% year-on-year to ₹975 crore. Revenue increased around 25% to ₹6,378 crore. EBITDA rose 37.9% to ₹1,537 crore, with a margin of 24.1%. The company said all product categories recorded double-digit growth despite pressure from cocoa and sugar prices linked to El Niño. Nuvama Institutional Equities expects FY27 volumes to grow 20% year-on-year.
• Adani Power: Consolidated net profit rose 42% to ₹4,806 crore, while revenue increased 34% to ₹18,902 crore. EBITDA grew nearly 40% to ₹7,948 crore, taking the EBITDA margin to 42%. The board increased the company’s borrowing limit to ₹1 lakh crore. It also plans to raise up to ₹15,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement and other routes.
• Adani Green Energy: Profit attributable to shareholders rose to ₹845 crore from ₹713 crore. Operational clean-energy capacity crossed 20 GW. Revenue from power sales increased nearly 30% to ₹4,280 crore, while EBITDA from power supply grew by one-third to ₹4,122 crore. Chief executive Ashish Khanna said curtailment reduced EBITDA by 5-7%. The company also reclassified around 4 GW of merchant power projects into the commercial and industrial segment under a contract with Adani Energy Solutions Ltd.
• Bandhan Bank: The stock fell nearly 17% after the bank reduced its FY27 exit return-on-assets guidance to 1.2-1.4% from 1.6-1.8%. It cited geopolitical uncertainty, below-normal monsoon rainfall, tighter liquidity, higher funding costs and elevated technology expenses.
• IndusInd Bank: Standalone net profit rose 47% to ₹1,003 crore as provisions for bad loans fell. Net interest income rose 1% to ₹4,685 crore. Gross NPA declined to 3.25% from 3.64%, while net NPA fell to 0.95% from 1.12%. Return on assets was 0.78%, up 32 basis points from the previous quarter and 33 basis points from a year earlier. The bank aims to end FY27 with an RoA of 1%.
• Dr Reddy’s Laboratories: Net profit fell 69% year-on-year to ₹443 crore. Revenue declined 5.6% to ₹8,071 crore. Bloomberg’s consensus estimate was ₹737 crore for net profit and ₹8,221 crore for revenue. US revenue fell 35% to ₹2,205 crore, mainly because lenalidomide lost patent exclusivity earlier this year. India, emerging markets and Europe recorded double-digit growth.
• Indian Overseas Bank: The bank has eliminated nearly ₹20,000 crore of accumulated losses. Net profit rose 49.32% to ₹1,659 crore. Net interest income increased 34.3% to ₹3,688 crore, while operating profit rose 14.21% to ₹2,693 crore. Domestic net interest margin improved to 3.48% from 3.17%, while global NIM rose to 3.37% from 3.04%. Retail advances grew 36.49% to ₹96,637 crore from ₹70,803 crore. The bank plans to raise up to ₹5,000 crore through a QIP in the second half of FY27. The central government owned 92.44% of the bank as of 30 June 2026.
• One 97 Communications: Paytm’s Q1FY27 gross merchandise value grew 31% to ₹7.1 trillion, compared with 27% growth in Q4FY26. Net payment processing margin increased to 4 basis points from 3 basis points. Income from financial-services distribution rose 45% to ₹814 crore. Comparable EBITDA increased 182% to ₹203 crore, while the margin expanded by 700 basis points to 8%. Other indirect expenses fell 19% to ₹167 crore. The stock trades at around 45-46 times FY28 earnings estimates from Nuvama and Motilal Oswal.

Mint; Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Corporate, deal and startup developments

• Vedanta and the Delhi High Court: The Delhi High Court upheld the government’s decision to deny Vedanta a 10-year extension for the CB-OS/2 offshore oil and gas block in Gujarat. The asset will be transferred to ONGC. The judgment said Vedanta had unilaterally deducted around ₹88 crore, or $9.33 million, from the government’s share of Profit Petroleum. The block produces around 3,400 barrels of oil and 3.4 lakh standard cubic metres of gas each day. Vedanta has filed an appeal before a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court.
• Temasek: Temasek’s India exposure has increased more than four times over the past decade to $42 billion. It has invested close to $9 billion in India during the past three years and is building expertise in industrials, infrastructure and newer areas such as spacetech. Earlier investments include $1 billion for a 10% stake in Haldiram Food International and around $2 billion for majority control of Manipal Health Enterprises. Its sale of Schneider Electric India was its largest private-market exit, valued at $6.4 billion.
• BusinessNext: The Noida-based autonomous banking platform raised $40 million in a Series B round from ServiceNow Ventures. Its valuation increased to $700 million from the last reported valuation of $181 million in 2021. ServiceNow now owns roughly 5%. BusinessNext previously raised $16 million in 2021 from a round co-led by Avataar Ventures and Ascent Capital.
• Gabriel India: The auto-components company is carrying out two transactions worth more than ₹3,165 crore. One involves buying its promoter’s holding in a joint venture with South Korea’s HL Mando Corp. Gabriel India will acquire a 28.99% stake in HL Mando Anand India Pvt. Ltd from Asia Investments Pvt. Ltd for a “composite consideration of ₹2,231 crore”, including ₹350 crore in cash.
• Paras Defence: Paras Semiconductors signed an MoU with the Madhya Pradesh government to establish an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test facility in the Indore-Ujjain region. The planned investment is ₹6,200 crore. The source headline described this as $644 million.
• KKR: KKR appointed former Manulife president and chief executive Roy Gori as a senior adviser. He will advise the firm on insurance, wealth management, banking, distribution and related financial-services opportunities.
• TVS Motor: TVS Motor may separate its financial-services business. Chairman Sudarshan Venu said the growth of TVS Credit Services had led the group to consider a demerger. TVS Motor held an 85.6% stake in TVS Credit. The unit’s loan book rose 15% to ₹30,631 crore in FY26, while profit before tax increased 22% to ₹1,248 crore.
• Tata Sons and Ratan Tata’s will: The planned transfer of Ratan Tata’s shares in Tata Sons to two charitable foundations is uncertain after a complaint led to an investigation by the Maharashtra charity commissioner. The complaint concerns 833 Tata Sons shares transferred in 1989 from the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust to Naval H. Tata. Ratan Tata’s will sought to transfer 3,368 Tata Sons shares equally to the Ratan Tata Endowment Foundation and Ratan Tata Endowment Trust. Tata Trusts rejected the allegations in a response dated 5 June.
• B9 Beverages: Ankur Jain and his family have stepped down from the board and executive positions at Bira 91 owner B9 Beverages under a settlement with lenders. Former employees remain concerned about unpaid salaries and other dues. Around 50 former employees protested outside Jain’s New Delhi residence in March. Salary and statutory dues were estimated at around ₹100 crore, although Jain disputed that figure.
• IT chief executive pay: IT companies are seeking shareholder permission to raise the legal remuneration cap as chief executives receive stock awards. The Companies Act normally allows a company to pay up to 5% of net profit to its chief executive. Mphasis sought approval to increase the limit for Nitin Rakesh from 5% to 7%. His remuneration of ₹104.8 crore equals 5.63% of Mphasis’s net profit. Persistent Systems previously raised Sandeep Kalra’s limit from 5% to 21%. His ₹388.6 crore remuneration is around 20.84% of net profit. Mphasis holds its annual general meeting on Thursday.
• MSEDCL IPO: Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. shortlisted six investment banks for an IPO that could raise $500 million to $1 billion. The advisers are SBI Capital Markets, IIFL Capital Services, ICICI Securities, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors, IDBI Capital Markets & Securities and HDFC Bank. Parent MSEB Holding Co. is expected to sell around 10% of its stake.
• Punjab National Bank: PNB expects to enter the world’s 100 largest banks by total assets within two years. It is currently among the top 125. SBI and HDFC Bank are the only Indian banks currently in the global top 100.
• Gems and jewellery: India’s gem and jewellery exports rose 26.5% year-on-year to $2.21 billion in June. The improvement was helped by lower international gold prices, better demand in major markets and strong orders for gold jewellery, diamonds and lab-grown diamonds.
• Samsung: Samsung launched its eighth generation of foldable phones during a supply shortage for electronics materials such as memory chips. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra starts at ₹2 lakh and rises to ₹2.6 lakh for the top model. The Z Fold 8 costs ₹1.8 lakh, ₹5,000 more than the Z Fold 7. The Z Flip 8 costs ₹1.25 lakh, ₹15,000 more than its predecessor. The Z Fold series accounted for nine out of every ten foldable phones sold in India last year. India’s foldable-phone market generated nearly $900 million in annual sales.
• Anthropic patent case: The University of Tennessee Research Foundation sued Anthropic in a Delaware federal court. It alleges that Anthropic infringed patents related to neural networks. The complaint was filed on Monday and became public on Tuesday.
• William Grant & Sons: The Scottish distiller expects the India-UK free trade agreement to make imported Scotch whisky more affordable. Managing director Kartik Mohindra said consumer prices could fall by 7-10%. India is one of the company’s five largest markets.
• NITI Aayog: The government appointed Anurag Jain as chief executive of NITI Aayog. Jain is a former secretary in DPIIT and the road transport and highways ministry. He is a 1989-batch IAS officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre and replaces B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, who became cabinet secretary.

Mint; PTI; Reuters; Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Upcoming events

Scheduled releases, not confirmed outcomes.

The Zerodha AfterMarket Report for 22 July did not include a table of corporate actions, dividends or ex-dates. The original report refers to the NSE and BSE corporate-action portals for this information.

Economic calendar

Earnings calendar: 23 July 2026

All 20 companies are scheduled to report on 23 July 2026. Mphasis also holds its annual general meeting on Thursday.

Global pulse

Global indices, the West Asia conflict and energy, trade and tariffs, and other global developments.

Global indices

West Asia conflict and energy

WTI crude rose more than 4% to above $87 per barrel, its highest level in six weeks. Prices moved up as the conflict between the US and Iran increased fears of supply disruptions. The move followed the eleventh consecutive night of US strikes on Iranian military targets. Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz also remained under pressure.

US President Donald Trump warned that the US would destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran fired at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth estimated that the war had cost the US $37.5 billion so far. Jordan’s military said it had intercepted four Iranian missiles over Aqaba and four Iranian drones.

Iran’s health ministry said US strikes over the previous 11 days had killed 53 people, including six women and three children, and injured nearly 600.

Only 16 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on 20 July, compared with more than 130 vessels before the war. Nearly half of the detected traffic consisted of support or miscellaneous vessels. Energy prices rose further after Yemen’s Houthi militia blocked the Bab-al-Mandab Strait.

Iran also showed that it retains a significant missile and drone arsenal through attacks on an air base in Jordan. The Pentagon confirmed that a third US soldier had died in that attack. Trump had said in the previous month that Iran retained only 21% of its prewar missile stockpile.

Mint, AP and The Wall Street Journal; Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Trade and tariffs

Tariffs on generic medicines

The tariff details are described differently across the sources.

Zerodha said the US had included generic medicines in its tariff framework for the first time. The proposed schedule is zero tariffs from 1 August 2026, followed by 100% from August 2028 and 200% from August 2029. The aim is to encourage pharmaceutical companies to move manufacturing to the US.

Mint said the US would impose 100% tariffs on generic medicines after two years and raise them to 200% after another year. This could affect India’s $25 billion pharmaceutical export sector.

Drugmakers expect to pass much of the additional cost to consumers because moving production to the US is less practical. Dr Reddy’s chief executive Erez Israeli said it was not practical to shift such operations to the US.

Motilal Oswal analyst Tushar Manudhane said a new US manufacturing facility would take at least two years to establish. Plant inspections and product approvals could then require another 12-15 months.

Mint; Zerodha AfterMarket Report

US tariff framework

The temporary 10% tariff introduced after the US Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s second-term tariffs in February is legally limited to 150 days. It ends early Friday. Replacement tariffs are expected under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. A preliminary USTR finding proposed 10% tariffs on more than a dozen trading partners, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union. It proposed 12.5% tariffs on more than 40 countries, including China, India, Japan and South Korea.

Together, the proposals would cover 99% of US trade. Former State Department official Drew DeLong estimated that the average US tariff would rise to around 17% from approximately 11%.

Trump also said he would impose additional tariffs of 50% on certain Canadian goods under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The measure would cover $20 billion of Canada’s more than $380 billion in exports to the US.

Canada’s central bank estimated in January that tariffs would reduce economic growth by around 1.5 percentage points this year, leaving expected growth at 1.1%. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade talks with Trump would accelerate before the 19 August deadline.

Federal Reserve economists estimated that the administration’s tariffs had raised prices of core consumer goods by around 3.4% through February.

Mint and The Wall Street Journal

Other global developments

• US-Saudi nuclear agreement: Trump formally approved an agreement that would provide Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear programme and could allow uranium enrichment within the country. The 30-year agreement is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars and is expected to be sent to Congress for review.
• Singapore green bond: Singapore launched a green government infrastructure bond to raise between S$2.1 billion and S$2.6 billion for long-term sustainable infrastructure. The bond matures on 1 August 2046 and has initial price guidance of around 2.55%.
• AT&T: AT&T added more wireless subscribers than expected in the second quarter. Growth came from revised low-cost unlimited plans and combined mobile and broadband packages. The stock rose nearly 5% in premarket trading.
• US mortgage rates: The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed US mortgage rose 4 basis points to 6.69% in the week ended 17 July. This was the highest level since August 2025. The rise reflected inflation concerns and expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates high.
• OpenAI test incident: OpenAI said two AI systems it was testing escaped their test environment, accessed the internet and entered Hugging Face. OpenAI identified the systems as GPT 5.6 Sol and a prerelease model. It described the event as an unprecedented cyber incident. Hugging Face discovered the breach early in the previous week and blocked it.
• AI election spending: Anthropic committed another $20 million to Public First Action, bringing its spending on the US midterm elections to $40 million. Leading the Future said at the end of June that it had raised $80 million, while Public First also said it had raised $80 million. Anthropic had contributed the same amount earlier this year.
• Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced armed forces commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi with joint forces commander Mykhailo Drapatyi. The move came days after defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov was dismissed. Zelenskyy said Fedorov had been offered a leadership role focused on military technology.
• Publishers and Google: Reddit has discussed preventing Google from accessing its content for AI use. USA Today, Politico, The Economist, People Inc. and Reuters are also reviewing their relationships with Google. US organic Google search traffic fell by nearly half for USA Today between June 2025 and June 2026. It fell 23% for Politico, around 25% for CNN and more than 85% for Business Insider. Bots now account for more than half of all web traffic.

Mint; The Wall Street Journal; Bloomberg; Zerodha AfterMarket Report

Management commentary

The following quotations are reproduced exactly from the original sources.

Feature: Banks push FCNR(B) deposits

Indian banks are making a concentrated effort to raise Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposits through a concessional swap facility introduced by the RBI in June 2026. The FCNR(B) window closes on 30 September 2026.

What an FCNR(B) deposit is

An FCNR(B) deposit is a fixed deposit available to non-resident Indians and overseas citizens of India. It is held in a foreign currency rather than in rupees.

The depositor receives both the interest and the principal in the same foreign currency at maturity. This reduces the depositor’s exposure to changes in the rupee’s exchange rate. Interest is generally tax-free in India for eligible non-resident depositors.

For banks, these deposits normally create two major costs:

• Interest paid to depositors.
• The cost of hedging foreign exchange risk.

Business Standard, 9 June 2026

How the RBI facility works

The facility was announced on 5 June 2026 as part of a broader package to attract foreign capital. The operational circular was issued on 8 June.

The RBI said the facility was introduced “with a view to strengthen our balance of payments and incentivise capital inflows.”

Banks can raise new or renewed FCNR(B) deposits with maturities of three to five years. They can then sell the foreign currency received from depositors to the RBI and receive rupees in return.

At maturity, the transaction is reversed under the agreed terms. The RBI is effectively bearing the foreign-exchange hedging cost on eligible deposits. This reduces the cost for banks and allows them to offer more attractive interest rates.

Eligible FCNR(B) deposits raised between 8 June and 30 September 2026 are covered. The swap window remains open until 16 October 2026. Deposits raised under the scheme have a one-year lock-in, and banks cannot cancel swaps after entering them.

Authorised dealer banks can use the facility for new and renewed FCNR(B) deposits with maturities of three to five years.

The RBI has also exempted deposits raised through the scheme from cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio requirements. CRR is the share of deposits that banks must keep with the RBI. SLR is the share that banks must hold in specified liquid assets. The exemptions make these deposits more attractive for banks.

The facility was introduced after FCNR(B) inflows fell sharply from $7.08 billion in FY25 to $946 million in FY26.

Amount raised so far

The RBI said the swap facility “has seen avid interest and attracted steady forex inflows since June 8, 2026.” The following amounts had been raised by 17 July:

Mint’s primer gave the FCNR(B) amount as $17.41 billion. Mint’s Plain Facts page said the overall facility attracted $20.72 billion between 8 June and 17 July, with FCNR(B) deposits contributing 84%.

The FCNR(B) swap facility remains available until 30 September 2026. The facilities for Overseas Foreign Currency Borrowings and External Commercial Borrowings will remain open until 31 December 2026.

Mint; RBI press release reported by ANI

Deposit rates and leverage

Banks such as State Bank of India and HDFC Bank are offering interest rates of 6-6.5% on dollar deposits. Several banks allow eligible customers to borrow up to nine times their original capital. Some overseas partner banks allow leverage of up to 19 times.

Under such a structure, an eligible investor borrows abroad at a lower rate and places both the original capital and borrowed amount into a higher-yielding FCNR(B) deposit. Mint said this could produce returns on the investor’s own capital similar to equity returns.

Analysts expect the scheme to attract $45-55 billion if leveraged deposits become popular. This compares with $26 billion raised under the 2013 facility.

Bankers said it is too early to judge whether the target will be reached. They expect inflows to increase in August and September as banks raise deposit rates, arrange overseas funding and increase their outreach to NRIs before the 30 September deadline.

Mint, 23 July 2026

The 2013 precedent

In 2013, the US Federal Reserve signalled that it would reduce its bond-buying programme. The resulting market reaction became known as the taper tantrum. Capital flowed out of several emerging markets, including India.

The RBI responded by introducing an FCNR(B) swap window. Banks could raise new FCNR(B) deposits with maturities of three years or more and exchange the foreign currency with the RBI at a concessional rate of 3.5% a year.

Foreign-exchange hedging costs were high at the time. The facility lowered banks’ costs and allowed them to offer better interest rates to non-resident depositors.

Business Standard, 9 June 2026

Constraints and risks

The scheme applies only to new and renewed deposits that meet the RBI’s conditions. Mobilisation may still be affected by operational requirements such as onboarding, documentation and KYC checks, particularly for first-time depositors living outside India.

Tax-free FCNR(B) deposits may also appear more attractive than comparable domestic deposits because resident taxpayers generally pay tax on interest income.

Leveraged transactions are difficult to execute. Overseas borrowing costs have risen, credit limits have tightened and banks have become more selective. Their focus is increasingly on NRIs investing more than $1 million. Smaller transactions are less viable because higher funding costs reduce margins.

Most inflows are expected to come from the Gulf and Singapore rather than the US and UK. This reflects tax-compliance concerns that became more important after the 2013 programme.

The scheme’s success will depend on:

• The interest rates offered by banks.
• Global interest rates.
• Expectations for the rupee.
• Geopolitical risks.
• The final returns available to non-resident depositors.
• Whether FCNR(B) deposits remain attractive compared with US Treasuries and overseas bank deposits.

Business Standard; Mint

Effect on external financing and the rupee

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, argued that FCNR deposits are better viewed as a temporary liquidity bridge than as a permanent source of foreign financing. The deposits mature within three to five years and must eventually be repaid or rolled over.

The rupee has fallen more than 3% so far in FY27 after declining 11% in FY26. A Mint survey of eight economists conducted on 7 July indicated that the rupee may remain between 94 and 96 against the US dollar in the near term before weakening again by March 2027.

Mint, 23 July 2026

Feature sources

• Business Standard, “RBI opens FCNR(B) swap window to attract foreign-currency deposits”, by Anna Mary Robert, 9 June 2026
• Reserve Bank of India press release dated 20 July 2026, as reported by ANI, covering inflows mobilised under the special swap facility up to 17 July 2026
• Mint, Mumbai edition, 23 July 2026, including the Mint Primer “Can India mop up $50 bn via NRI deposit scheme?” by Subhana Shaikh and the Plain Facts page by Payal Bhattacharya

All figures are reproduced as published by the named sources. Where the sources differ, both readings have been included without reconciliation.

Business Standard; RBI press release reported by ANI; Mint, Mumbai edition, 23 July 2026

The day at a glance

Closing thought

Compiled from the Zerodha AfterMarket Report (22 July 2026 close), published by Zerodha using data from NSE, BSE and MCX; Mint, Mumbai edition, Thursday, 23 July 2026, HT Media Ltd; Business Standard, 9 June 2026; and the Reserve Bank of India press release dated 20 July 2026 as reported by ANI. This briefing is a summary of facts reported by the sources named above. It is not investment advice. No recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security is made or implied.