Daily Market News Update — 07th-08th April 2026

Midnight News Update: 07-08 Apr 2026

According to SKYMET, India is likely to see a weaker monsoon in year 2026. It has pegged the rainfall at 94% of long period average (LPA). Normal rainfall is defined as the range of 96% to 104% of LPA. SKYMET has blamed the El Nino effect for the lower-than-expected rainfall in 2026. The government owned IMD is yet to release its estimates for 2026. The forecast is critical as the June to September period accounts for about 70% of the total rainfall and is the key to Kharif output. Typically, Southwest Monsoon sets in in early June and covers all-India by mid-July.

Ahead of the midnight deadline for Iran to accept the US truce, there have been major strikes on Iran by the US and Israel. Trump has given Iran time till midnight of 07-April to accept their terms and open up the Straits of Hormuz. As a warning signal, there were concerted attacks on Kharg Islands, the epicentre of Iran oil power. Kharg Islands also happens to be a key military zone. Trump has threatened to destroy Iranian infrastructure and manufacturing facilities if the Straits of Hormuz is not opened. Iran has threatened to further disrupt energy supplies globally.

In response to Trump’s unilateral peace proposal, Iran has put forth its set of demands for a ceasefire. Iran wants to charge ships $2 million for allowing passage through the Strait of Hormuz, money that will be shared with Oman, on the other side of the Strait. Iran has called for permanent cessation of hostilities by Israel and the US against Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza. It has also demanded formal war compensation by the US as well as the lifting of sanctions. Iran has also asked the US to dismantle all its facilities in the Middle East and West Asia region as part of the treaty.

As war losses start to hit India’s GDP growth and inflation, India has readied a package to support Indian business. The Centre announced a ₹2,50,000 crore credit cover and $1.5 billion reinsurance support. It is essentially meant to cushion Indian businesses from shipping and insurance risks that are likely to make trade more expensive. The MSMEs are among the worst hit by the Iran war. The scheme will guarantee up to 90% of the loans of up to ₹100 crore, that will give lenders the comfort level to extend credit. Reinsurance scheme will help insurers manage risk more effectively.

According to an FE poll, the March consumer inflation in India is seen higher at 3.5%. While the higher inflation will be triggered by higher fuel prices, it is still below the average RBI inflation target of 4.0%. For now, the prices of petrol and diesel have been kept in check, but higher crude prices have an indirect way of creeping into prices. The effect may just get magnified when the OMCs hike prices of petrol and diesel. Even core inflation is expected to spike by about 50 bps in March on account of the supply chain constraints created by the ongoing war in West Asia.

The March quarter saw a slowdown in residential properties but a spike in office leasing activity. In fact, office leasing hit a record 29.9 million SFT in the March quarter. At the same time, the residential property market saw falling sales and rising inventory. The office demand has been largely led by the Global Competency Centres (GCCs) that are aggressively setting up shop in India. The office leasing activity was 6% higher yoy. Nearly 40% of the office leasing happened in Bangalore MMR and in Hyderabad. Office rentals were up 2% to 15% across cities.

Bharti Airtel has hit 650 million customers globally, making it the second largest telecom player in the world. While Airtel serves over 368 million customers in India, it has about 179 million customers across 14 African nations. In India, Airtel trails behind Reliance Jio, which has around 500 million customers. China Mobile dominates the telecom landscape with over 1 billion customers. Bharti Airtel still sees substantial headroom for growth in the rural and semi-urban markets. Airtel added 4.86 million mobile subscribers in the month of February 2026.

Ecommerce was meant to bring products at a lower cost to the masses, but in order to boost their profits, these ecommerce companies are now moving to premium products. Across online platforms, vendors are moving from low-cost goods to big ticket sales. As competition builds up and price wars intensify, ecommerce players are struggling to make money in the mass market. That strategy did not have too many entry barriers. Big ticket products come with higher price points, better margins, fewer direct competitors, and a much better business moat.