Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announces increased domestic LPG production to offset import disruptions caused by Middle East tensions, alongside assurances of fertiliser availability and the clearing of UPA-era oil bonds.
'So far our production is not affected. But every day the situation prolongs, it does bring risks in terms of shipments getting delayed.'
The big question is whether Trump is any longer in command of the situation. For all practical purposes, the war seems set to cascade as the US is preparing for a potential ground operation in Iran and threatens to destroy 'bridges next, then electric power plants', points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned US President Donald Trump that mishandling the Taiwan issue could trigger conflicts between the two countries during wide-ranging talks on trade, Iran, and energy security.
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.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum may post a combined loss of Rs 10,700 crore in June quarter on selling petrol and diesel at rates below cost, a report said on Monday. While the raw material (crude oil) prices soared in April-June, petrol and diesel prices were not revised, leading to marketing losses which offset strong refining margins, ICICI Securities said in the report. The three state-owned oil marketing companies -- IOC, BPCL and HPCL -- control 90 per cent of the retail petrol and diesel sales in the country.
'The West Asia or the Gulf crisis has shown that what we develop as national infrastructure when things are not as bad as they could be, we forget to plan for adversities.'
These firms are expected to incur an under-recovery of over Rs 121,000 crore (Rs 1,210 billion) during this financial year, compared to Rs 78,000 crore (Rs 780 billion) in 2010-11.
Reliance Industries Ltd, India's largest buyer of Russian oil and most impacted by the latest US sanctions, on Friday said it will comply with all applicable restrictions and will adjust its refinery operations to meet compliance requirements.
Karex, the Malaysian company that makes roughly one in five of the world's condoms -- about five billion a year, supplying Durex and Trojan among others -- announced this week that it is raising prices by up to 30 percent. The reason is the Strait of Hormuz.
US sanctions against two of Russia's largest oil companies are expected to impact Reliance Industries' crude imports from Russia, while state-run refiners may continue purchases through intermediary traders for now.
'Nobody explained why. After that there was panic buying, there was hoarding -- and then nothing reached us.'
Indian investors have seen their wealth erode by a staggering Rs 48.29 lakh crore since the West Asia war began on February 28, leading to a significant downturn in the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, driven by geopolitical tensions and rising crude oil prices.
S&P Global Ratings warns that a sustained rise in crude oil prices to $130 per barrel could significantly slow India's economic growth, weaken fiscal metrics, and strain corporate and banking sector performance, potentially reducing growth by up to 80 basis points.
Even if there is an early agreement on a cessation of hostilities in West Asia, the price shock will not go away easily, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Qatar, India's largest supplier of imported natural gas, has declared force majeure on deliveries following a halt in production in the wake of an Iranian drone strike -- a disruption that has led to a cut in supplies to Indian industry by up to 40 per cent, sources said.
In the present hyper-connected world, there are many domestic and global factors that affect financial markets. Of them, the most powerful and often least predictable are geopolitical events, which often boil down to one diplomatic headline.
The conflict may disrupt Budget 2026-2027 projections, squeezing revenues and raising subsidies, prompting fiscal adjustments and potential reforms, echoing lessons from the Covid-era shock, points out A K Bhattacharya.
If you are actively trading, you can't possibly overlook headlines. Early announcements, policy changes, or even a disruption in a certain industry habitually grab your attention. These headlines, when strategically assessed, can generate profitable trading ideas.
India's new manufacturing project announcements more than halved in the fourth quarter of FY26, falling 60 per cent sequentially and 78 per cent year-on-year to approximately 1.7 trillion, driven by global uncertainties, geopolitical conflicts in West Asia, and existing unutilised manufacturing capacity.
Suzuki Motorcycle India Ltd (SMIPL) has revised its domestic two-wheeler sales growth estimate for FY27 downwards from 7-8 per cent, citing rising commodity costs due to the ongoing West Asia conflict and its impact on consumer affordability.
Foreign brokerages have started to cut their year-end targets for the Nifty 50 index amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.
The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.
The Andhra Pradesh government has prepared an action plan for relief and essential supplies in pre-cyclone preparedness for Cyclone Montha, expected to cross the coast on October 28.
Households should moderate large discretionary expenses for the time being.
'They should prioritise essential spending. They should maintain an emergency fund covering 6 to 12 months of expenses.'
In a first, Indian oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) finalised a one-year contract to import around 2.2 million tonnes (mt) of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the US. The LPG import deal comes at a time when negotiations for an India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) are gathering steam. Earlier in the month, US President Donald Trump had said Washington and New Delhi were "pretty close" to reaching a fair trade deal.
There are hopes of a turnaround in overall corporate earnings after six quarters of single digit growth.
Sanctioning Russian oil would have led to a sharp surge in oil prices to above $80 per barrel levels, which would impact pump prices in the US ahead of midterm elections next year.
India offset the decline in exports to traditional destinations by sharply ramping up shipments to Jordan (18,086 per cent), Hong Kong (17,006 per cent), Spain (13,436 per cent), the Philippines (2,235 per cent), and Namibia (1,068 per cent) in H1FY26.
Inflation data, quarterly earnings and global trends will be the major driving factors for stock markets this week, analysts said. Moreover, the trading activity of foreign investors would also influence the equity market trends.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has proposed a 20-point policy agenda to the finance ministry, including a conflict-linked emergency credit line guarantee scheme and tax rationalisation on energy inputs, to support MSMEs, exporters, and energy-intensive industries affected by the ongoing West Asia war.
India, the world's third largest oil importing and consuming nation, is likely to save as much as Rs 1.8 lakh crore on import of crude oil and LNG if the trend of softening international energy rates continues, Icra said Wednesday. India, which meets over 85 per cent of its crude oil needs through imports, spent $242.4 billion on buying crude from overseas in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025.
India's services sector growth slowed in March, reaching a 14-month low, according to the HSBC India Services PMI. The slowdown reflects weaker new business intakes and rising input costs, particularly in fuel, transport, and logistics.
Qatar has halted liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after its facilities came under attack amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, disrupting supplies to India and squeezing feedstock availability for key domestic sectors.
India's peak power demand is projected to hit 270 GW this summer, surpassing last year's record of 250 GW.
The benchmark BSE Sensex's trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple has declined to 20.2x, its lowest since May 2020, driven by a record $42 billion FPI selloff since September 2024 and concerns over corporate earnings and economic growth.
'If movement remains stalled for three to four months, more than 300,000 recruitments from India could be affected.'
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
Two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded his visit to India, during which he assured that Moscow would remain a reliable energy supplier, the Kremlin on Monday said that India, as a sovereign nation, is free to buy oil from sources it deems beneficial. It expressed confidence that New Delhi will continue to prioritise its economic interests.
India's decision to import LPG from the US helps it to diversify sources as it reduces almost full reliance on West Asian countries for supply of the country's primary cooking fuel.
