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You might have heard that the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz is going to leave poor countries starving. That’s not quite right. The reality may be almost as serious, though—and China will be the victor.The theory stems from the importance of the Persian Gulf in the world’s fertilizer trade.

emissions data from about 70 plants to establish this baseline. But a review found mismatches between reported emissions and fuel use or production levels at some units, while others used differing calculation methods.

CMS Info Systems operates in a sector undergoing significant consolidation, where weaker players are steadily exiting due to severe challenges accessing credit and liquidity. As a result, even a listed competitor (AGS Transact) had to cease operations due to liquidity problems.CMS stepped in to stabilise ATM networks for banks, reinforcing its position as a mission-critical partner rather than just a service provider.

Stock market recap: Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and the Nifty 50, slumped more than 3% on Thursday in their worst session since June 2024, dragged down by heavyweight HDFC Bank after the abrupt exit of its chairman and by a surge in crude prices following attacks on West Asian energy facilities.The Nifty 50 fell 3.26% to 23,002.15 points, while the BSE Sensex also lost as much to settle at 74,207.24.On the Sensex, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Bajaj Finserv were among the major laggards. HDFC Bank dropped 5.13% after its chairman, Atanu Chakraborty, resigned, citing ethical concerns.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, soared 6.75% to $114.8 per barrel after Iran attacked a key natural gas facility in Qatar as well as two oil refineries in Kuwait.Best stocks to buy today (All Buy trades are rates of Equity & Sell rates are based on F&O)IPCALAB: Buy above ₹1550, stop ₹1500 target ₹1680 (Multiday)GESHIP: Buy above ₹1445, stop ₹1380 target ₹1540 (Multiday)COLPAL: Sell below 1880, stop ₹1940 target ₹1760(Multiday)Indian equity markets suffered a sharp selloff on Thursday, March 19, 2026, as persistent global risk-off sentiment and a surge in crude oil prices triggered broad-based losses.

sudden resignation of chairman Atanu Chakraborty, with open positions in the stock’s active futures contracts hitting record highs, according to Bloomberg data.Usually, such a heavy buildup of short bets can trigger a bounce through short covering.

₹1 lakh segment.The pressure is most visible at its youth-focused brands CaratLane and Mia by Tanishq, where demand is showing signs of strain as gold becomes less affordable. Titan is expanding design-led silver offerings to retain entry-level buyers, rather than relying only on lower-carat gold or pricing tweaks.The shift underscores a broader pivot underway in India’s jewellery market: as gold prices climb, consumers—particularly younger buyers—are becoming more experimental, gravitating toward lighter, lower-ticket categories such as silver and silver-studded pieces.Gold is currently trading at around ₹1.5 lakh per 10 grams on the MCX, up sharply over the past year, while silver is hovering around ₹2.35 lakh per kg, indicating a widening affordability gap between the two metals.“We are seeing a structural shift in India’s jewellery consumption.

MUMBAI: Sewing machine manufacturer Singer India Ltd. plans to focus on premiumization and diversification into consumer products to garner a greater share in the domestic and industrial markets that are currently flooded by Chinese products.“Today we have been able to completely reposition ourselves as a premium product,” Rakesh Khanna, vice-chairman and managing director of Singer India, told Mint.The company plans to invest over ₹100 crore in the next three years in a new plant to increase production of zig zag sewing machines.

After a board meeting on Wednesday, the Bengaluru-based company decided to reallocate ₹575 crore, out of ₹1,505 crore it raised for research and development (R&D) during the initial public offering (IPO), to pay debt and fund organic growth activities.The company’s disclosures showed that ₹475 crore will be used to fund upcoming debt, while ₹100 crore will be used for growth purposes. This is the second time since going public in August 2024 that the company has changed its use of funds, with the first change made in August 2025.The cut in funds to be used for R&D has come as the company has total debt obligations worth ₹526 crore for financial year 2026 and ₹610 crore for financial year 2027, excluding any other short-term debt.Subhabrata Sengupta, partner at Avalon Consulting, said that funds required for R&D can change, but such a reallocation isn’t a positive sign.“How much R&D spend is needed depends on the plan.

Even as several IPO-bound technology companies reassess launch timelines amid the war in West Asia, one critical element of their listing preparation—shifting their corporate domicile back to India—remains largely unaffected.Mint’s analysis of EY data shows that nearly 20 Indian tech startups have either shifted, are in the process of shifting, or are considering shifting their headquarters back to India ahead of planned listings. Of these, 13 companies have already completed the restructuring or are in the process of it, signalling that the trend is becoming a structural feature of India’s new-age tech IPO pipeline.These companies were founded in India but chose Singapore or US holding structures to tap global capital, regulatory flexibility and overseas listing, according to experts.Prominent startups, including Flipkart, PhonePe, Razorpay and Zepto, have already shifted their holding companies back to India from Singapore and the US ahead of their listings.There are some tax implications for companies shifting back, as they may lose the ability to ‘carry forward’ previous years' business losses to offset future taxable profits, according to tax experts.Further, capital gains tax on existing investors applies if the shift is made via a share swap, in which foreign shareholders exchange their shares for shares in the Indian entity.

The war in West Asia has raised geopolitical vulnerabilities. These are not only affecting countries in the region that are directly or indirectly involved in the war, but also much of the rest of the world. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already led to a spike in energy prices and shortage of petroleum products, including gas.

India joined several developing countries to advocate for a global framework to lower cross-border remittance costs ahead of the World Trade Organisation's 14th ministerial conference (MC14), marking a focus on development-linked financial issues in trade.The proposal, supported by Morocco, Pakistan and the African Group, addresses remittance fees, which remain above the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals target of under 3% by 2030. On several routes, costs still range between 5% and 6%, significantly reducing the amount that ultimately reaches recipient households.

₹83,029 crore, up nearly 36% from February’s ₹61,141 crore, which itself was a 16-month high, according to NSE data.“This month could witness highest-ever ADT for NSE, thanks to a surge in volatility because of the rising geopolitical tensions,” said Amit Chandra, vice-president, research, at HDFC Securities.The previous record monthly ADT for NSE was ₹71,690 crore in February 2024. With seven sessions remaining this month, sustained trading amid elevated volatility could push the exchange ADT to a new high and potentially boost market share, said Kruti Shah, quant analyst at Equirus Securities.The spike in turnover is mirrored in the ratio of premium to notional turnover on NSE, HDFC Securities' Chandra said.

VinFast and homegrown Ola Electric have offered discounts to wean consumers away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles that run on diesel and petrol, with analysts saying the energy crisis could push fence-sitters towards EVs.The crisis has also renewed focus on the Centre’s plans to go beyond the 20% ethanol blending in petrol, with executives indicating that higher blends and flex-fuel vehicles may see faster rollouts as they can cut the country's imports of crude oil.According to analysts at Nomura, crude oil price rise due to the current crisis can make the total cost of ownership equation even more attractive for electric vehicles, which can boost EV sales in the short term.“One beneficiary of higher oil prices could be a quicker shift in consumer sentiment towards EVs. Thus, EV [players] are likely to benefit,” Kapil Singh and Siddhartha Bera of Nomura wrote in a 9 March note.Retail fuel prices have remained steady so far, but risks of an increase persist if the conflict drags on, according to experts.EV sales in the country rose 77% year-on-year in calendar 2025 to nearly 177,000 units, with their share in total sales reaching 4%.

Stock market recap: India’s benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 rose 0.8% each on Wednesday, 18 March, tracking global gains as oil prices eased, even as investors turned cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later in the day. Concerns over the ongoing US-Iran war in the Middle East capped gains.The Sensex climbed 633 points, or 0.83%, to close at 76,704, while the Nifty 50 advanced 196 points, or 0.83%, to settle at 23,778.

Eternal Ltd’s stock fell for 18 consecutive sessions till Friday, losing nearly a quarter of its value to ₹216. It is rare for a Nifty50 index constituent to have such a long losing streak.It has recovered by about 11% to ₹242 over the last three trading sessions, probably after JM Financial Institutional Securities reiterated its target price on the stock at ₹400 with largely unchanged earnings estimates.

In 1945, at World War II’s close, the economist Albert O. Hirschman published National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade, in which he analyzed how nation-states shape trade patterns to their strategic advantage. The book sank like a stone.

Gail (India) Ltd’s shares have declined about 12% since the conflict in West Asia began, hitting 52-week low of ₹144.50 on Monday. The Strait of Hormuz blockade and QatarEnergy's suspension of operations at its LNG plant would hit Gail’s transmission and marketing businesses.As per Elara Capital, the state-owned company transported 123 million standard cubic meter (mmscmd) of natural gas in 2025, and about 30% of it came from sources that pass through or are close to the Strait and are stalled currently.The marketing segment traded volume of 105 mmscmd in 2025, and its dependency is less at 16%, thanks to diversified contracts from the US, Russia, and Australia.

The Indian stock market is in a clear downtrend. We had barely taken a breather from harsh tariffs, and now we find ourselves caught up in the consequences of a war.Given our dependence on oil and gas imports and trade with West Asia, this has serious implications for India. And the markets are reflecting that.The pain is much sharper in broader markets than what indices reflect.

New Delhi: India has joined a group of developing economies in pushing for a global framework to reduce the cost of cross-border remittances, positioning the issue as a key development priority ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization scheduled in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, later this month.The conference will take place during 26-29 March 2026.In a revised draft ministerial declaration circulated on 17 March, India, along with Morocco, Pakistan and the African Group, called for coordinated global action to bring down remittance transaction costs, which remain significantly above the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target of less than 3% by 2030.India is world’s largest recipient of remittances, with inflows estimated at around $135.4 billion in FY25, according to an India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) report. This marks a steady rise from about $129 billion in 2024 and reflects a strong increase over the past decade.

green hydrogen annually by 2030 under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.Reliance did not disclose the quantity of green ammonia that would be supplied as part of this deal with Samsung C&T. However, while announcing the deal on Monday, it hinted in a press release that this was the first of a series of such deals that it plans to strike in the coming days.The Korean company is the holding company of the leading chaebol and is engaged in materials trading and construction, among other things.Reliance did not respond to Mint’s query on the quantum of the supply.This is the second large export agreement struck by an Indian manufacturer of green hydrogen.

Stock market recap: Indian stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended 0.7% higher on Tuesday, 17 March, following gains in global peers. Meanwhile, investors remained on edge amid lingering concerns over the ongoing US-Iran conflict in the Middle East, a sharp rise in crude oil prices, and continued strength in the US dollar, all of which have weighed on risk appetite.Sensex ended 568 points or 0.75% higher at 76,071 while Nifty rose 172 points or 0.74% to settle at 23,581.