Daily Market News Update — 18th-19th October 2026

Midnight News Update: 18-19 Oct 2026

Amidst accusation of oligarchy by Elon Musk, Reliance Industries has underlined that it is absolutely open to competition. It was referring to the entry of Starlink into India with the launch of its Satellite connectivity services. However, Reliance also underlined that any entry into a sensitive space like connectivity must be only permitted in accordance with the domestic laws and keeping the national security foremost in mind. Indian telecom giants like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have invested billions of dollars into 5G infrastructure and bandwidth in recent years.

ICICI Bank reported 20.1% growth in net profits for Q2FY27 at ₹14,843 crore on standalone basis. For the quarter, net interest income (NII) was up 17.7% to ₹25,339 crore. Net profits and NII were above street estimates. Net interest margins (NIM) for Q2FY27 tapered to 4.18% from 4.36% in Q1, due to higher cost of FCNR(B) funds. The asset quality (gross NPAs) for the quarter improved to 1.20%, from 1.38% in the sequential quarter. For the quarter, loan book grew 30%, while deposit growth was at 27%. CASA ratio fell to 35.8% due to the FCNR(B) inflows in Q2FY27.

HDFC Bank also reported net profits 4.7% up at ₹19,510 crore for Q2FY27. Net interest income (NII) was up 9.7% at ₹34,619 crore for the quarter. NII and net profits were at par with street estimates. Net interest margins (NIM) came under pressure; falling to 3.16% from 3.26%, as the overhang of HDFC merger was compounded by the high-cost FCNR(B) flows. Gross NPAs improved marginally to 1.11%. Even as Kaizad Bharucha will move out of HDFC Bank by end of October, the new CEO Anup Bagchi has affirmed that most of the post-merger integration had been completed.

Fairfax, which recently acquired controlling stake in IDBI Bank, is roping in banking veterans as advisors. It will be roping in Deepak Parekh, and former HDFC Bank veteran Paresh Sukhthankar on its advisory board. Paresh was in contention for the top job at HDFC Bank, but left a few years prior to the end of Aditya Puri’s term. Fairfax will also rope in ICICI Bank veteran, NS Kannan, as the Chairman of IDBI Bank. Fairfax already owns CSB; so, it may look to integrating CSB, IIFL Finance and Go Digit interests under the IDBI Bank umbrella. Big changes are in the offing.

There is some good news for India as Trump has decided to waive the 100% penal tariffs on countries that import oil from Russia. The penal tariffs were also to apply to the goods exported by the 5 largest importers of Russian oil; which includes India and China. Now that risk is also off the table. This came after the US struck a deal with Russia to supply diesel to the US. The Indo-US trade deal was also stuck for the same reason as it was not possible to have a deal unless there was some clarity on the arbitrary tariffs that the US imposed from time to time.

It was a robust month for auto sales in September 2026 as evidenced by the SIAM and FADA numbers. Auto sales for September were up 22% on a yoy basis, largely on account of a low base in the year ago period, as it came just prior to the massive GST cuts on auto that the government had announced late last year. Within the auto space, the two-wheeler space saw demand growth of 13.5% while three-wheelers saw demand growth of 16%. PV sales were up a robust 28.5%. There was a lot of dealer stocking in September ahead of festive season demand expectations.

With retail sugar prices touching record highs amid weak sugarcane output, the government has put a halt to all diversion of sugarcane for ethanol purposes. For now, the government will only permit surplus corn and rice and disposable grains as inputs for ethanol production. This ban will be applicable till March 2027. This ban will apply to ethanol derived from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, and B-heavy molasses. The idea is to direct more of the sugarcane crop to sugar production to tame sugar prices. Generally, sugar has been a politically sensitive commodity in India.

He Indian active pharma ingredient (API) market is slated to touch $22.18 billion by year 2031. With India still relying on China for around 73.7% of its drug ingredients, domestic production of APIs is a big opportunity for India. According to Mordor Intelligence, Indian API market is set to grow at a CAGR of 7.74%. The API segment is dominated by Hyderabad-based players like Laurus Labs, Aurobindo Pharma, and Divi’s Laboratories. Broadly, there are 3 models in APIs; Integrated API Manufacturing, Contract Development Manufacturing (CDMO), and custom synthesis.