India's forex reserves jumped by another $14.36 billion to a new all-time high of $723.77 billion during the week ended January 30, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.
Remittances from West Asia in March rose sharply amid the conflict in the region, with industry insiders estimating inflows to be 20-30 per cent higher than what is usual in a month.
In an event-heavy week ahead, stock markets are expected to track Q3 corporate earnings from several blue-chip firms, including TCS and Infosys, while inflation data and global trends would also dictate investors' sentiment, analysts said.
Trading pattern in the stock market this week will largely depend on the ongoing Q3 earnings announcement from corporates, global trends, and foreign fund movement, analysts said. Moreover, geopolitical developments and any update on trade negotiations would also be keenly tracked by investors, experts noted.
Indian equities declined on Friday, with the benchmark Nifty posting its worst weekly fall since September, as foreign investor sentiment remained weak amid tepid earnings growth and little progress on the India-US trade front.
Sensex and Nifty post steepest weekly loss in over a year, falling nearly 3 per cent.
Macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would be major driving factors for market movement this week, analysts said. Unabated capital infusion by domestic institutional investors have supported the positive trend in the stock market last week, traders said.
The UK High Court has concluded the hearing for Nirav Modi's application to reopen his extradition appeal, focusing on claims of potential torture during interrogations in India. The court has reserved its judgement.
The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) is advocating for the termination of the moratorium on customs duties for electronically transmitted digital products, arguing that it hinders self-reliance, causes revenue losses, and restricts India's ability to tax emerging technologies like AI.
'Periods of geopolitical uncertainty often see a rise in coordinated cyber threats, disinformation campaigns, and infrastructure targeting.'
A host of macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would dictate investors' sentiment in the stock market this week, analysts said. Besides, auto sales data will be closely tracked, experts noted.
Indian artificial intelligence (AI) startup Sarvam launched two indigenous large language models (LLMs) specifically trained on Indian languages on Wednesday.
The United States, which entered this war in expectation of a short, sharp win along the Venezuela model, is now preparing for deeper involvement in a conflict it does not fully control, without the allies it typically relies on, against an adversary that is not behaving as expected, in a global environment that is already absorbing economic shock. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
S&P Global Ratings warns that Indian oil marketing companies like IOC, BPCL, and HPCL may face reduced profit margins due to rising crude oil prices and government pressure to maintain stable retail prices.
Indian officials will visit the US to finalise the legal text for an interim trade agreement, expected to be signed in March, focusing on duty concessions and reciprocal tariffs.
The Indian rupee crashed to a record closing low against the US dollar due to rising global crude oil prices, a strengthening dollar, and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Mumbai hotels and restaurants are facing potential closures due to a critical shortage of commercial LPG cylinders, with similar disruptions reported across India. The crisis stems from revised government priorities for domestically produced natural gas, impacting the hospitality sector and potentially affecting tourism.
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 saw investment pledges of USD 240 billion from major players like Reliance, Adani, Google, Lightspeed Ventures, and Tata, signalling a significant boost to India's AI infrastructure and development.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
A fall in the Nifty 50 to around 19,000 is not impossible, but that would likely require nuclear options to be exercised.
Anthropic's Claude AI chatbot experienced a second outage within 24 hours, impacting users in various regions. The disruption follows a previous outage and comes amid scrutiny over the AI's capabilities and potential uses.
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The message is becoming clearer: Employees who fail to meaningfully integrate AI into their work risk falling behind in performance assessments.
With Gulf countries emerging as popular destinations for Indian weddings and pre-wedding shoots, the March-April season had seen a flurry of bookings.
A senior government official asserts India's independence in purchasing Russian oil, stating that US sanctions waivers merely remove friction but do not dictate India's energy policy. The official highlights India's commitment to energy security and affordability for its citizens.
Replacing over a third of India's oil imports at competitive rates is going to be a challenge, said traders from State refiners, even though some progress was made in the last two months.
Foreign investors pulled out Rs 21,000 crore (around $2.3 billion) from Indian equities over the last four trading sessions amid deteriorating global risk sentiment triggered by the West Asia crisis.
'Statutory power must be exercised in a manner that is fair, proportionate, and not excessive.' 'The authority must demonstrate a rational nexus between the property frozen and the alleged offence.'
If the conflict continues for a prolonged period, State-run oil companies may have to review retail fuel prices accordingly.
Pune-based Atharva* tells us how he learned to accept and let go, choosing love over his desire to have children.
'The culture of mankind has been spread by the travel gene which pushes one in five people to have the curiosity to move to unknown destinations.'
India and the US are expected to sign the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement by mid-March, which will result in the US lowering import duties on Indian goods. India will then begin reducing import duties on certain US goods.
India and the US are expected to sign the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement by mid-March, which will result in the US lowering import duties on Indian goods. India will then begin reducing import duties on certain US goods.
The US Fed's interest rate decision will be the major factor dictating trends in the domestic equity market this week, with global movements and foreign investor activity also influencing sentiment, according to analysts. Stock markets ended the last week on a subdued note, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closing flat.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
Macroeconomic data, global market trends and trading activity of foreign investors will be the key drivers for dictating market sentiment this week, analysts said. "This week, volatility may increase ahead of the November derivatives expiry. Domestically, markets will track several high-impact macro releases, including Q2 GDP data and industrial production.
India's forex reserves jumped by $8 billion to an all-time high of $709 billion during the week ended January 23, the RBI said on Friday.
In an event-heavy week ahead, stock markets' movement would highly depend on macroeconomic data announcements, global trends, RBI's interest rate decision and trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. India's industrial production data for October 2025 will be released on December 1, an official statement said on Friday.
'When it comes to enterprise context, there is a big lag between how fast technology is evolving and how it is getting deployed at the end of the day. That is where the challenge is going to be.'
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