Daily Market News Update — 19th-20th April 2026

Midnight News Update: 19-20 Apr 2026

RBI has now proposed a simpler scale-based regulation for NBFCs. Instead of a complex score-based mechanism, RBI will keep ₹1,00,000 crore assets as the cut-off and any NBFC with assets above that threshold will automatically classify as an “Upper Layer” NBFC. Once the NBFC is classified as “UL” it will hold for 5 years. A UL-NBFC will be subjected to more stringent compliance and disclosure requirements. This could have major implications for Tata Sons, which has been avoiding listing by surrendering its CIC status. That may not be workable with the new rule.

HDFC Bank reported 9.1% higher net profits for Q4FY26 at ₹19,221 crore. Net interest income (NII) for the quarter was up 3.2% at ₹33,000 crore. However, total income of HDFC Bank for Q4FY26 was flat at ₹89,808 crore. Its net NPA ratio was well under control at 0.38%. For the March 2026 quarter, HDFC Bank reported 12.8% growth in its deposit base to ₹28.50 trillion as of the close of March 2026. For the full year, HDFC Bank also declared dividend of ₹15.50 per share. NIM was sequentially flat at 3.53%, but the overhang of corporate governance continues on the stock.

With the US continuing its blockade of Iranian ports, Iran again blocked the Straits of Hormuz, and has also threatened to block the Bab-Al-Mandeb, the key Red Sea route to the Mediterranean. Iran has also underlined that ships that pay the fees to Iran will be given priority passage, while ships refusing to pay the fees shall be held up at the Straits of Hormuz. Iran has accused the US of repeated breaches of trust. Iran has now placed management of the Hormuz Waterway under the strict control of the armed forces. Iran called for unconditional removal of the US blockade.

Jonnagiri in Andhra Pradesh will launch India’s first private sector gold mine. The Jonnagiri gold mines are being developed by GeoMysore with potential to produce up to 1,000 KG of gold annually. Jonnagiri is located in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, bordering Karnataka. India currently imports about 800 tonnes of gold annually, putting pressure on the balance of trade. Currently, Hutti Gold Mines produces 1.50 tonnes annually, while Kolar Gold Fields were shut in year 2000. Jonnagiri is still small, but offers a model for gold mining by private sector.

The Resolution Professional (RP) handling the sale of Jaypee group clarified to NCLAT that Vedanta had never been declared the winner of the bid. The counsel to Adani, Abhishek Singhvi, underlined that the email from the RP had only mentioned the highest bid, but had never mentioned who the highest or qualifying bidder was. Also, the counsel added that the final decision must be left to the Committee of Creditors (COC), and their commercial wisdom cannot be questioned. There appears to be a lot of hair splitting in this case, and Anil Agarwal may actually have a valid point.

ICICI Bank reported 8.5% growth in Q4FY26 net profits to ₹13,702 crore. Net interest income (NII) for the quarter was up 8.4% at ₹22,979 crore. Total income was up just 1.8% at ₹50,584 crore. Its net NPAs also tapered lower to 0.33% as of March 2026. Total advances as of the end of March 2026 stood at ₹15.54 trillion; with retail loan portfolio account for 50.4% of the lending basket. ICICI Bank also saw robust growth in its corporate lending and rural lending portfolio. The stock of ICICI Bank has been among the best performers among private banks in last 5 years.

According to a note by CRISIL, despite risks of an extended war in West Asia, Indian banks will not see gross NPAs cross above 2.2% in FY27. That would be just about 20 bps higher in a worst-case scenario. Corporate balance sheets continue to be strong, although there could be some pressure emanating from the MSME segment. However, CRISIL does expect the GDP growth to moderate by 50 bps to 7.1%, but that would be despite a sharply higher GDP deflator; rising from 0.5% to 3.5%. In short, nominal growth would be sharply higher in FY27, compared to FY26.

The world is ramping up for the biggest IPO in history; as Elon Musk’s SpaceX targets a $75 billion IPO at a valuation of $1.75 trillion. That would be 2.5 times larger than the Saudi Aramco IPO of 2019, the biggest IPO till date. SpaceX is planning a NASDAQ listing this year. At that valuation, SpaceX would be trading at 108X trailing sales. SpaceX is betting big on the theory that the future of tech valuations may depend on companies that own the physical and digital infrastructure beneath artificial intelligence. It will also be the most expensive IPO in terms of valuations.