September 08, 2026

TOP NEWS

War update: Iran is planning to announce a maritime "exclusion zone" outside the Strait of Hormuz where it intends to stop vessels attempting to transit the waterway without Iranian permission. The price of Brent crude hit a nearly seven-week high touching $97 per barrel. Asian markets remain mixed and gift nifty indicates marginally negative start with ~40 points cut on bourses.

 

ICICI Prudential & insurers - Life insurers posted one of their fastest new business premium (NBP) growth rates for the financial year in August, with a 33.07 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase to Rs 41,197.78 crore, improving from 20 per cent growth in July, driven by robust premium mobilisation by both state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and private insurers. The monthly premium of insurers had grown by 39 per cent in April 2026.

 

Garuda Construction: Garuda Construction’s subsidiary Dream City Builders has signed an MoU with Almasarat Company to build a 93‑storey twisting landmark tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with an estimated revenue potential of ₹1,800 crore over five years. The project will include a ~350‑room five‑star hotel and a diamond‑shaped rooftop restaurant, pending final contract and approvals.

 

GE Vernova T&D: emerged as L1 bidder for the 6,000 MW HVDC terminal station package for the Barmer II–South Kalamb transmission project. Total project cost: ~₹25,000–26,000 Cr Estimated GE terminal-station package: ~₹9,000–10,000 Cr Potential addition to GVT&D’s backlog: ~43–48%

 

Hindustan Copper: Copper surges to a record $14,533 a ton as tariff fears collide with tight supply and rising data centre demand.

 

Ship Rocket: E-commerce logistics and shipping platform reported a net loss of Rs 13.7 crore in Q1, narrowing from Rs 18 crore a year ago. Revenue grew 33.8% year-on-year to Rs 592 crore from Rs 442 crore, while EBITDA loss narrowed to Rs 21 crore from Rs 26 crore.

 

Adani power: Received a Letter of Intent to acquire insolvency-bound GVK Energy, gaining control of a 330 MW hydroelectric power project in Uttarakhand.

 

DAC approvals: The defence ministry on Monday approved the acquisition of military hardware for the Army, Navy and Air Force, including radars, advanced light helicopters and mechanical mine layers, at an estimated cost of Rs 1.10 lakh crore to strengthen the armed forces' overall combat capabilities. The Indian Ministry of Defence said about 98% of the procurements are expected to be sourced from Indian industry. AoN is not a signed contract; contracts follow later after costing and other clearances. Positive read through for Defence companies and specifically HAL and BEL

 

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐲 -CBRN reconnaissance vehicles, High Mobility Vehicles (HMV), Self-propelled mechanical mine layers (MML), Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH),Trawl tanks, Sarvatra bridge system.  𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐲-Arudhra radars,  Design, development and subsequent procurement of marine gas turbines. 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞-Ground Based Multi-Purpose Jammer (GBMPJ), Defence Forces Secure Access Card (DEFSAC) system, Proposals to enhance the war-fighting capability of fighters, transports and helicopters.

 

Macro Wrap

  • China’s August trade data improved from July as exports rose 18.6% YoY in August, up from 17.8%. imports YoY 21.7% (prior 21.2%) resulting in trade surplus in USD $119.09bln, below consensus $120.0bln and up from $112.5bln in July. China's foreign trade rose 17.6% year-on-year in the first eight months of the year.  The exports were driven by petroleum products and mobiles phones as country exported 6.01 million tons tonnes of refined petroleum products in August, up from 4.653 mln tonnes in July. China's refined oil product exports totalled 34.236 mln tonnes in Jan-Aug  and China exported 52.596 mln mobile phones in August, up from 49.268 mln in July. China crude oil imports 37.928 mln tonnes in August, versus 35.726 mln tonnes in July and for first 8 months imports of crude oil stood around 320.895 million tonnes. Sentimentally positive for crude oil and Base metals
  • The dominant geopolitical development was a sharp escalation in the US-Iran confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz. Over the weekend, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at two US Navy warships, prompting the US military to strike three Iranian oil tankers off Kharg Island, Jask, and in the Gulf of Oman in retaliation. The tit-for-tat exchange renewed fears that the already-disrupted energy flows through the strait could face further pressure
  • copper surged to an all-time high on the London Metal Exchange, driven by anticipation that the Trump administration will expand US tariffs to imports of refined metals. Three-month LME copper futures rose above $14600/t following 0.8% gains on previous day, bringing the metal’s year-to-date advance to 17%. Supply-side constraints compound the picture, with Chilean smelters reportedly operating at around 60% of capacity despite the country’s dominant share of global copper concentrate supply.
  • US equity and bond markets were closed for Labour Day on Monday. The Euro Stoxx 50 edged up 0.2%. EUR-USD rose 10 pips to 1.1620. US Treasury cash markets will resume trading today, with the Treasury scheduled to auction USD58bn of 3Y notes. The German 10Y Bund yield rose 5bp to 3.39% and the UK 10Y Gilt rose 4bp to 5.18%
  • Brent crude rose 0.7% to settle at USD97.00 a barrel, its highest in six weeks, as the US-Iran tanker exchange stoked fears of a prolonged supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz. Gold edged lower by 0.4% to around USD4,412 an ounce, as traders weighed fluctuating oil prices against a softer dollar.
  • we get the August NFIB Small Business Optimism index and the New York Fed one-year inflation expectations for August.

Others

 

Aarti industries: The company announced the successful commissioning of Phase I of its Zone IV project at Jhagadia, Gujarat, marking an important milestone in the Company’s ongoing growth and expansion journey. Phase I brings together Calcium Chloride, PEDA (2-Phenyl Ethyl Diethyl Aniline) and a part of its Multipurpose Plant (MPP), creating complementary capabilities in downstream integration, diversified end-use applications, and flexible multi-product manufacturing.

 

Coal India's average daily coal production increased 35% to 1.83 MT on September 6th, from 1.36 MT in the first three days of September, aided by improved mining conditions. NCL and SECL saw their production rise by 61% and 33%, respectively, while daily deliveries to the power sector increased by 24% to 1.7 MT. Rake loading at power plants increased to 444 rakes from 370 rakes on September 3rd, 26.

 

NALCO signed a technology licensing deal with Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) to use EGA's proprietary DX+ Ultra reduction technology for its anticipated 0.5 million tons per annum (mtpa) smelter expansion in Anugola, Odisha.

 

Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) has inked a Technical Assistance Agreement with Japan’s JFE Steel Corporation to enhance its manufacturing and operating procedures for certain ferritic stainless steel grades. As part of the agreement, JFE Steel will give technical knowledge to improve product quality, process efficiency and manufacturing standards for ferritic grades commonly used in automotive components, railroad coaches, culinary equipment, industrial machinery and construction.