UPS Financial News

Stock market recap: The Indian stock market saw healthy gains on Tuesday, 10 March, after two consecutive sessions of losses that dragged the Sensex and the Nifty 50 down 3% each. The market rebound followed a drop in crude oil prices and recovery in global peers amid hopes that the conflict in West Asia could end soon.The Sensex jumped 640 points, or 0.82%, to end at 78,205.98, while the Nifty 50 climbed 234 points, or 0.97%, to settle at 24,261.60.The mid and small-cap segments outperformed strongly.

New Delhi: Indian refiners have ramped up daily domestic production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by around 10% in the past few days in the face of a supply squeeze from the US-Iran war, two people aware of the development said.The refiners have also secured 20 very large gas carriers (VLGC) carrying around 1 million tonne (mt) cargo, mostly from the US, the people said on condition of anonymity.However, the country is still short of another 20 VLGCs—totalling 2 mt—which Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been scouting for since the war broke out on 28 February, these people added.“Production has already gone up by 10%,” the first person cited above said, adding that India is looking at sourcing more LPG from all available sources, including the US, Canada, Australia and Algeria.The second person said: “There was a shortfall of about 40 VLGCs, and 20 VLGCs have already been booked.

National Aluminium Co. Ltd’s (Nalco) shares are up more than 8% since the West Asia conflict began as some aluminium producers in the region have been forced to suspend operations, creating a supply shortage.

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India's retail inflation under the new series is expected to rise to 3.1% in February from 2.8% in January, driven by increases in prices of some food items from a year ago, according to a Mint poll of 18 economists.India’s statistics ministry had released a ‘back series' for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) using the new base year of 2024. Economists in the poll expect the second print of the CPI under the new rebased series to land in the range of 2.8-3.4%.

For many urban women, egg freezing is increasingly becoming part of long-term life planning, much like buying insurance or investing for retirement. But unlike most financial goals, this one comes with a biological deadline, and it isn’t cheap.The procedure typically costs ₹1.35- ₹3 lakh per cycle, with annual storage fees of ₹10,000–30,000 and potential IVF expenses later.

In 123 BCE, Gaius Gracchus passed the lex frumentaria, a law mandating that the Roman state sell grain to citizens at a fixed below-market price. The aim was modest: stabilize food prices, protect the poor. Within two generations, it had become free distribution.

To see how this plays out in Indian equities, we analysed 18 flexi cap funds with over a decade of history. The findings show where investors should focus.Fund selection created enormous variance. The best performer delivered nearly 5% annual alpha over the benchmark.

Mint.Other action points listed in the minutes include: trimming state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)'s workforce, securing national networks, a roadmap for component localisation, and resolving issues in the undersea cable industry. SIM cards should be issued only on the basis of Aadhaar cards after biometric verification, it noted.Most countries tax income of companies that have data at the core of their business or some try to reduce screen usage in other ways with restrictions on timings of gaming services or age of consumers."Any kind of taxes on data usage would be impossible to implement.

After nine days of denial, the hard reality of an oil shock seems to have hit home. In the second week of joint US-Israel attacks on Iran, crude oil prices have leapt into three digits, with Brent within sniffing distance of $120 per barrel at one point. The oil spike battered stocks across Asia as plumes of smoke began to look like clouds of stagflation on the not-so-distant horizon.

Looking for companies with strong moats and pricing power is crucial because these businesses can protect profits and grow consistently over long periods.A moat refers to a durable competitive advantage—such as strong brands, high switching costs, or dominant distribution—that keeps competitors from easily taking market share.Companies with moats can maintain high margins and steady returns on capital, even during economic downturns.Here are three stocks with strong moats and pricing power. This editorial is not a stock recommendation.Titan Company is one of India’s leading consumer brands, known primarily for watches, jewellery, and eyewear.

Fintech Moneyview is hunkering down on a lending model just as digital lending peers such as Paytm and KreditBee are either moving away from it or focusing on growth in other models.In its draft IPO prospectus, the Bengaluru-based startup revealed plans to substantially expand default loss guarantee (DLG) arrangements with lending partners as part of its credit distribution strategy. A default loss guarantee allows a partner, such as a fintech, to compensate a regulated entity, such as a bank or NBFC, for loan defaults.The move comes even as financial institutions have been reassessing such guarantees after the Reserve Bank of India introduced guidelines in mid-2023 that capped DLG exposure at 5% of a loan portfolio and required board approval.Paytm, a listed fintech platform that began DLG-backed loans in 2024, began retreating from the arrangement due to high costs by mid-2025.

Ather unveiled its new EL platform last year in August on which its future scooters will be built.The EL platform allows the company to a suite of products, ranging from family oriented scooters to sporty performance models, over five years.Ola Electric, dealing with losses and slowing sales, is shrinking its network from about 4,000 stores to around 700, it informed investors in February after the release of its December quarter earnings.Ather is set to double store count to 700 this financial year from 350 in fiscal 2025. A target of at least 1,100 by the end of March 2027 suggests that it would have added 750 stores or more in two years.The latest move by Tarun Mehta-led Ather comes after the Bengaluru company overtook crosstown rival Ola Electric in quarterly revenue, volume sales, and market valuation in the last six months.For two consecutive quarters, Q2 and Q3 FY26, Ather’s total revenue of ₹941 crore and ₹996 crore surpassed Ola Electric’s ₹756 crore and ₹504 crore.Since Ather’s listing in May 2025, the company’s shares have surged by 118% while Ola Electric’ shares have fallen by 51%.

Iran’s strategy in its war with the US and Israel is clear: Impose an intolerable economic cost on US President Donald Trump, forcing him to abandon his ‘war of choice’ as American petrol prices surge. Is there any way the Islamic Republic’s blueprint for survival can fail? Yes, if its old regional nemesis, Saudi Arabia, can step in to cushion the global oil market.Enter the East-West pipeline, a 1,200km conduit crisscrossing the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf to the Red Sea. Its raison d’être is to meet this historic moment.

"Khamenei Out.” That was the title of an event wager on the prediction market Kalshi. On the website of its rival, Polymarket, wagers were being made on “the timing of the Iran war” just before it began. Posts by Bubblemaps, a blockchain analytics tool, on X indicate that six accounts collectively pocketed $1.2 million in profit from Polymarket bets.

₹60 per 14.2 kg cylinder, taking them to the highest level since 29 August 2023.According to Nomura, every $10 per barrel increase in oil prices could shave 15 basis points off India’s growth and add 50 basis points to retail inflation. With oil prices already up nearly $50 per barrel since the start of the year, the impact on India’s growth-inflation dynamics could be significant.The Iran conflict could prove more disruptive to oil markets beyond the initial price spike than the Russia-Ukraine war.

Budget-friendly” isn’t typically a descriptor you find next to “MacBook.” But priced at $599—$499 with a student discount—Apple’s new MacBook Neo is the least expensive laptop it has ever offered. Expect its four colourful variants to start gracing college campuses and coffee shops very soon.Apple’s strategy seems straightforward: A cheaper laptop puts it in direct competition with Google’s Chromebook, now a mainstay of classrooms globally, plus a whole universe of Windows-powered laptops. It could lock in the next generation of Apple laptop users.Yet Apple could have justifiably made that kind of move at any point in the Chromebook’s almost 15 years on the market.

NEW DELHI: India builds some of the world’s fastest expanding highway networks but depends on imports for a large share of the bitumen used to bind asphalt.The country needs about 9 million tonnes of bitumen each year for road construction. In FY25, domestic production was 5.3 million tonnes, with the rest imported—largely from West Asia, a region currently facing conflict.Against this backdrop, bio-bitumen, an alternative derived from biomass, could replace up to a third of petroleum-based bitumen, potentially reducing India’s import dependence.

Bharat Forge Ltd stock hit an all-time high of ₹1,935.50 on Friday. It’s up 24% so far in 2026, making it the best performer in the Nifty Auto index. Ashok Leyland Ltd is a distant second, up 4%.

A subtle twist in the tale: The strength of the US dollar as measured by the Dollar Index (DXY) peaked at 114 in September 2022, a 20-year high. It has been falling since then, hitting 97 on 28 February 2026, the start of the Iran war. DXY measures the dollar’s strength against a basket of currencies.

₹480–540 crore across eight new hotel and resort projects as it expands both owned and asset-light operations.The company will add about 600 rooms to its existing portfolio of 1,000-odd keys, Samir MC, chief executive officer (CEO) of Tamara Leisure Experiences, told Mint.Alongside owned developments, Tamara plans to expand by managing and franchising hotels through an asset-light model that enables pan-India expansion with lower capital investment and risk.This comes at a time when many Indian hotel ownership companies have been moving towards an asset-light or asset-right strategy over the last decade to balance out their portfolios amid strong travel demand.Founded about 15 years ago by billionaire co-founders of Infosys, SD Shibulal and S Gopalakrishnan, Tamara operates nine self-owned and managed properties across its three brands. These include The Tamara, a luxury leisure property which it owns and operates, O by Tamara, which are upscale city hotels, as well as Lilac by Tamara, a mid-scale hotel brand.