Business

New Delhi, February 17, 2026: The local stock market witnessed a respite from the ongoing downtrend on Monday, with both benchmark indices closing in the green. The BSE Sensex surged by 650.39 points (0.79%) to close at 83,277.15, while the NSE Nifty advanced 211.65 points (0.83%) to end at 25,682.75. The rally was driven by strong buying in power, banking, and finance stocks, coupled with a stable rupee and steady crude oil prices amid ongoing US-Iran talks, which supported market sentiment. The Sensex rebounded after three consecutive sessions of losses. Out of the listed shares on the BSE, 2,565 declined, 1,747 gained, and 184 remained unchanged. Among Sensex constituents, Power Grid led the gains with a 4.45% rise. Other notable gainers included HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, ITC, A...

New Delhi, India: The U.S. dollar has remained the dominant currency in global transactions despite a decline in its value last year, while the Chinese yuan has remained stagnant for the past three years. In international trade, the U.S. dollar accounts for roughly half of all transactions, reinforcing its strong global position. According to SWIFT data, the dollar’s share in international payments has risen to 50.5%, the highest since 2023, marking an 11.6% increase over the past four years. This means that nearly one in every two global transactions is conducted in dollars. Global Currency Rankings in Transactions: Euro (EUR): 21.9% British Pound (GBP): 6.7% Canadian Dollar (CAD) & Japanese Yen (JPY): 3.4% each Chinese Yuan (CNY): 2.7% Despite China’s trade sur...

New Delhi, India: The five-day India AI Impact Summit has kicked off today at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi, bringing together leaders from top technology companies worldwide. The summit, running from 16–20 February, is expected to witness announcements of investments totaling $100 billion. Among the participants are several Indian-origin leaders who head international companies, proudly representing India on the global stage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet the CEOs of 35–40 companies during the event. Key Indian-Origin Leaders at the Summit: Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google & Alphabet: Born in Chennai on 12 July 1972, Pichai studied at IIT Kharagpur before completing further education at Stanford University. He joined Google in 2004 and became CEO in 2015, taking over Alph...

New Delhi, India: Ice cream maker Kwality Wall’s (India) debuted on the NSE today, listing at a sharp discount and causing significant losses for investors. The company was demerged from Hindustan Unilever (HUL) last year, with the demerger effective from 1 December 2025 and the record date for eligible shareholders fixed on 5 December 2025. Listing DetailsThe issue price of Kwality Wall’s shares was ₹40.20, but they listed at ₹29.80 on the NSE—a nearly 26% discount. The company’s market capitalization at listing stood around ₹7,000 crore. During trading, the shares dropped to ₹28.31. By 11 AM, the stock was trading at ₹31, about 23% below the issue price but 4% above the listing price. Open Offer by Magnum Ice Cream CompanyKwality Wall’s informed the exchange that The Magnum Ice Cre...

New Delhi, India: Young professionals are redefining financial transparency, and a Bengaluru-based data engineer provides a striking example. In a recent Instagram video, @thinking.mori revealed her monthly income and detailed expenses, showing how a high-earning professional manages her finances. Income and Major ExpensesShe earns ₹3 lakh per month, of which slightly over ₹2 lakh goes toward essential expenditures such as rent, utilities, and investments. Her monthly rent for her apartment is ₹20,000, which includes electricity, water, and Wi-Fi. She also pays ₹5,000 to her domestic helper, bringing her basic living costs to ₹25,000. A significant portion of her expenses is dedicated to an EMI of ₹30,000 for an apartment she bought for her parents. She explained, “I know a house is ...

New Delhi, India: Following trade deals with the United States and the European Union, the Indian government is preparing to provide greater flexibility for Chinese investments. According to sources cited by ET, the government is reviewing Press Note 3, which currently requires prior government approval for foreign direct investment (FDI) from countries sharing a land border with India. BackgroundPress Note 3 was introduced in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent opportunistic takeovers of domestic companies, particularly by Chinese firms. Under the existing rules, FDI proposals from countries sharing a border with India require approval from both the Home Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs. Proposed ChangesSources indicate that the government is considering ...

Mumbai, India: Last week, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed lower for three consecutive days, and the negative trend continued on Monday. Despite this, mid-cap mutual funds have delivered returns that outperform their benchmarks, providing investors with strong long-term gains. Rising Interest in Mid-Cap FundsEven during volatile market conditions, investor interest in mid-cap funds has grown steadily. By December 2025, the Assets Under Management (AUM) of mid-cap schemes had nearly 2.5-folded, reaching ₹4.61 lakh crore, up from ₹1.85 lakh crore in December 2022. Mid-cap funds now account for 13% of total equity fund AUM. This surge is driven by their strong performance: the Nifty Midcap-150 TRI has outperformed Nifty-100 TRI and Nifty Smallcap-250 TRI across one, three, ...

New Delhi, India: On the first trading day of the week, gold and silver prices opened lower, showing a sharp decline on the MCX. Silver dropped by over ₹8,000, while gold fell by more than ₹1,000 in early trades. MCX Trading Details Silver: The March 5 delivery of silver had closed at ₹2,44,360 per kg in the previous session. It opened at ₹2,38,489 and fell to a low of ₹2,36,100, a decline of ₹8,260. As of 9:17 AM, silver was trading at ₹2,36,681, down ₹7,679. Gold: April 2 delivery gold had closed at ₹1,55,895 per 10 grams in the last session. It opened at ₹1,54,999, touched a low of ₹1,54,676, and a high of ₹1,55,100. At 9:20 AM, gold was trading at ₹1,54,877, down ₹1,018 or 0.65%. International Market Trends Spot gold traded 0.4% lower at $5,020.10 per ounce, following...

New Delhi, India: Banks in India are lending at a pace faster than the rate of deposits, creating tight liquidity conditions in the system. In the current financial year, credit growth has reached 12%, while deposits have increased by 10%. Effectively, for every ₹100 deposited, banks are lending out approximately ₹97. Credit vs Deposit GrowthAccording to a report by Times of India, the incremental credit-deposit ratio has risen to 96.9% as of the end of January, while the outstanding credit-deposit ratio stands at 82.3%. This indicates a strong demand for credit relative to deposits. RBI data shows aggregate deposits rose 10.2% to ₹23 lakh crore, whereas credit grew 12.2% to ₹22.3 lakh crore. On a year-on-year basis, credit growth hit 14.6% in January 2026, the highest in 19 months, com...

New Delhi, India: The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has introduced new guidelines for virtual net metering, allowing residents to sell excess electricity generated from rooftop solar panels directly to their neighbors. Under the new rules, all three power distribution companies in Delhi—BSES, Tata Power-DDL, and NDMC—are required to facilitate virtual net metering for 1,000 consumers each within their service areas. How It WorksTraditionally, net metering allows households or buildings with rooftop solar panels to feed surplus electricity into the grid. The meter records electricity consumed from the grid and electricity exported to the grid. At the end of the month, the net difference is adjusted in the electricity bill. Virtual net metering extends this concept:...