Iran Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Even though Indian gold retailers sold less jewellery in the March quarter as soaring prices forced shoppers to cut back on purchases, higher rates helped prop up their revenues.Jewellery buyers typically stick to fixed budgets, buying smaller quantities when prices are high, executives said. “When prices are low, the volume will be higher.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.AMERICANS ARE not famous for their love of vegetables. The staples of American cuisine are starchy, cheesy and heavy on meat. One vegetable, though, sneaks into everything: the tomato.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.ON MARCH 11TH the 32 members of the International Energy Agency (IEA), a club of large oil-consuming countries, agreed to sell 400m barrels of crude from their emergency reserves. The release, equivalent to one-third of the group’s combined strategic stash, is the biggest ever co-ordinated by the IEA, which was founded in 1974 after the first Arab oil embargo. Its historical significance failed to impress oil markets, which have been shaken by the Middle Eastern crisis provoked by America and Israel’s war on Iran.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In a world beset by uncertainty, a 14% plus year-on-year growth in bank credit during December 2025 to February 2026 is reason for cheer. To be sure, part of this reflects a normalization of the credit cycle which saw brief disruption in mid-2025 triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A little-known Iraqi tycoon named Ali Al Zaidi has emerged as the likely next prime minister of Iraq with the backing of President Trump, who has invited the businessman to Washington and said the U.S. “is with him all the way.”The White House endorsement has come with a demand that Zaidi exclude Iranian-backed militias from Iraq’s next government and curtail Tehran’s influence in Baghdad.He has faced similar U.S. pressure before: Zaidi owns a bank that the Treasury banned from dollar transactions in 2024 over suspicions it was doing business with a militia leader linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, current and former U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: India’s electronics companies are getting more time, but not price revisions, to execute government procurement contracts as geopolitical conflicts and supply-chain disruptions raise costs for suppliers of smartphones, tablets and laptops.In a 29 April notice, the department of expenditure in the finance ministry said global economic and supply-chain disruptions triggered by the Iran conflict and preceding geopolitical tensions qualify as force majeure, allowing companies executing government contracts to seek delivery extensions of up to four months without penalty.The move offers some relief to companies such as Acer, Lava and Samsung India, which had sought price revisions for ongoing contracts amid rising component and logistics costs but have so far failed to secure them. Instead, the Centre has allowed extensions of “not less than two months and not more than four months.”The order said the Centre “recognizes delays in delivery in completion of contractual obligations on account of force majeure event for which the supplier, consultant, service provider and contractor is not at fault.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—As the heads of the world’s two superpowers meet in Beijing this week, President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will have another nation looming over their summit: Iran.The long anticipated meeting has already been delayed once due to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: The benchmark Nifty 50 had a volatile and weak trading session on Friday, 8 May, opening with a sharp gap-down at 24,233.65 and closing 146.15 points lower, or 0.60%, at 24,180.50, slipping below the key 24,200 mark.Sentiment remained under pressure amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, which heightened global risk aversion and pushed Brent crude oil prices higher. The surge in crude also weighed on the Indian rupee, which weakened to 94.48 against the dollar, stoking concerns over sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows.Heavy profit-booking in banking and oil heavyweights such as State Bank of India and HDFC Bank further dragged the index lower, while modest gains in defensives like IT were not enough to offset the broader market weakness.Buy: eClerx Services Ltd (current price: ₹1,668)Action Construction Equipment Ltd (current price: ₹947)Nifty 50 performance on 8 MayThe Nifty 50 witnessed a weak and volatile trading session, opening on a negative note at 24,233.65 amid cautious global cues.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories."Our first kartavya (duty) is to accelerate and sustain economic growth by enhancing productivity and competitiveness.” This statement by India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this year’s budget speech set a clear imperative: that productivity and competitiveness are not incidental to India’s growth story, but necessary conditions for its long-term economic development. Its significance has grown clearer since.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.After decapitating the Iranian regime and bombing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) positions for 40 days, the Trump administration has failed to secure a surrender and left Iran in control of the Strait of Hormuz. With Iran striking critical infrastructure across the Gulf Cooperation Council states and threatening shipping, the US reverted to TACO (Trump always chickens out) mode by agreeing to a ceasefire.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.War in the Persian Gulf and new Chinese export restrictions have sent sulfuric-acid prices soaring and raised concerns about the availability of a chemical that the world relies on for food, metal, paper, computer chips and clean water.Sulfuric acid is the most consumed chemical on the planet, produced by smelting and refining nonferrous metals, such as copper and nickel, or by burning sulfur, a byproduct of oil-and-gas processing.The acid can burn a hole in a steel shelf at the hardware store, where it is sold by the bottle as extra-strength drain opener. But it is more prevalently used higher up the supply chain by heavy industry to make a ubiquitous array of products and materials.Sulfuric acid is used to produce phosphate fertilizers, leach copper and other metals from rock, pulp wood, pickle steel, tan leather and vulcanize rubber.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Iran’s rulers have a problem as they attempt to negotiate an end to the war: Their new supreme leader is noticeably MIA and silent on the talks.U.S. and Iranian officials say Mojtaba Khamenei was severely injured in a February airstrike, which killed his wife, son and father, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The joint military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran in late February triggered a shockwave far beyond the energy markets, severely disrupting global commodity markets, especially fertilizers. India depends on imports for 25% of its urea, 90% of its phosphate, and its entire supply of potash.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Trump administration’s attempts to shrug off exchanges of fire with Iran this week deepened concerns among Arab Gulf states that any deal to end the war will expose them to future conflict with a vengeful Iran.Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dismissed the attacks by Iran on ships in the Strait of Hormuz this week as “low harassing fire.” On Thursday, President Trump said Iran “trifled with us.”The efforts to play down the attacks came as the Trump administration tried to protect a fragile cease-fire and keep peace talks moving forward.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Economists like to preach prudence, but they do not always practise it. Ibrahim Oweiss was a young economist in Egypt’s Ministry of Industry when he offered some frank advice to his bosses. He warned against a suffocating overconcentration of industry in Cairo and Alexandria.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Renewed hostilities near the Strait of Hormuz sparked a choppy retreat in domestic equities, even as favourable state-election outcomes provided a brief cushion to markets this week. Benchmark indices fell about 0.6% on Friday amid a global risk-off mood, as Iran accused the US of breaching their ceasefire agreement, citing attacks on its oil tankers and air strikes on coastal areas.But markets ultimately eked out marginal weekly gains, though the underlying sentiment remained fragile and directionless.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s cable and internet gear makers are experiencing the effects of the US-Iran war, with companies citing higher raw material costs, export disruptions, and growing uncertainty across global markets.The geopolitical tensions have pushed up prices of key inputs such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), copper, aluminium, preform, helium and polymers, while also affecting exports to West Asia, according to companies such as Havells India Ltd, Polycab India Ltd, R R Kabel Ltd, Sterlite Technologies Ltd (STL) and HFCL Ltd.“While US tariff headwinds have meaningfully moderated from peak levels, adding margins, we are seeing new near-term cost pressures from geopolitical disruption driven by the war in West Asia, particularly impacting helium and polymer inputs,” said Ajay Jhanjhari, chief financial officer at STL, during an analyst call on 29 April.Helium is mainly used in making optical fibre for telecom networks, so it matters more to companies such as STL and HFCL. Polymers are used in almost all wires and cables to cover and protect them, affecting the entire industry.To be sure, some telecom gear makers, impacted by the US reciprocal tariffs, saw an improvement in margins during the March quarter owing to the tariff being reduced from 50% to 15%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Until recently, artificial intelligence was a welcome tailwind for U.S. growth.We’re beyond that now. AI is more like a hurricane-strength weather system making itself felt across the entire economy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Alliance Fairfax, a towering black and white car-carrier ship that had been stranded in the Persian Gulf for over two months, was finally making a break for it.“You are all set to go,” a U.S. military officer radioed as the ship glided through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and swung around the peninsula at the northern end of Oman. “Safe travels.”Soon after, Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at commercial ships, at the U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Nifty generated a sense of confidence that we have been searching for the last few weeks. We had identified important zones, and this strong thrust seen yesterday could now fuel some trends ahead.Best stocks to buy today (All buy trades are rates of equity, and sell rates are based on F&O)Sun Pharma Advanced Research Co. Ltd: Buy above ₹169 | Stop ₹158 | Target ₹193 (multiday)Laxmi Organic Industries Ltd: Buy above ₹165 | Stop ₹157 | Target ₹181 (multiday)One 97 Communications Ltd (PayTM): Buy above ₹1,200 | Stop ₹1,150 | Target ₹1,290 (multiday)On 7 May 2026, Indian equity markets ended marginally lower after another volatile session, as profit booking erased early gains despite optimism over easing geopolitical tensions following reports of a possible US-Iran peace deal.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The market is betting on peace in the war with Iran while riding the relentless surge in tech stocks.Asia markets rumbled again on Thursday as Japan returned from its extended spring holidays and the Nikkei 225 roared nearly 6% higher on the opening day of trading.That takes the regional benchmark close to a 25% gain for the year, well outpacing the 11.4% advance recorded for the tech-focused Nasdaq and the 8% rise for the S&P 500.Not much has changed on the ground, or in the Strait of Hormuz, this week apart from sentiment, which seems tied to reports of a near-term deal between the U.S. and Iran that will end two months of hostilities and reopen the world’s busiest oil and energy conduit.Crude prices have slumped more than 12% over the past two sessions, with Brent futures falling below the $100 a barrel mark, on hopes of a near-term agreement that will lead to longer, more detailed peace talks between Washington and Tehran.But with stocks now more than 16% higher than their late March trough, and the first-quarter earnings season largely finished, the mood on Wall Street is expected to switch quickly.Jobs data on Friday could put the final nail in bets on a Federal Reserve rate cut this year, while crude prices and Treasury bond yields remain elevated enough from their prewar starts to suggest inflation will continue to echo through the world’s largest economy well into the fall.The war may be nearing its end, but the cleanup in certain markets will continue.