Daily Market News Update - 22nd-23rd October 2026

Midnight News Update: 22-23 Oct 2026

Brent Crude spiked above $112/bbl during the day after Houthis launched fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia; this time very close to the Saudi Aramco facility. This has led to concerns that escalating tensions in West Asia could again disrupt oil supplies. Meanwhile the US and Israel have drawn up fresh plans for strikes on Iran, so geopolitical risks continue. For now, ships continue to move through the Straits of Hormuz by switching off their transponders, but this still poses a huge risk to the cargo, and has resulted in a sharp spike in freight and insurance charges.

Balkrishna Tyres (BKT) and Pirelli SPA of Italy are planning a 50:50 joint venture to make passenger car tyres. The agreement will allow BKT to manufacture Pirelli branded tyres at its Gujarat plant for domestic and export use. While domestic payments will be made in rupees, the international payments for exports will be made in Euros. Pirelli will also share its knowhow and trademarks with BKT. Globally, Pirelli is a leader in manufacturing tyres for high-intensity racing cars. Both the companies are restricted from entering into similar agreements with third parties.

HDFC Bank has started its probe into the alleged internal data leak, something that again brought the stock price under pressure. Just two weeks back, HDFC Bank announced the appointment of Anup Bagchi as the next MD & CEO of HDFC Bank. The leak allegations pertain to confidential data leaked to social media and other outsiders by senior personnel at HDFC Bank. The issue has come to the attention as two senior employees of the bank were involved. Apart from the routine banking challenges, HDFC Bank has some serious reputational issues to handle.

With Russian crude losing its price edge, India relied heavily on Middle East crude in the month of September 2026. Between August and September, the share of Middle East oil in the Indian oil basket went up from 32% to 54%. While STS (ship to ship) transfers are still happening in the Straits of Hormuz, Gulf nations are also supplying oil to India from the Yanbu port in the West. In September, India imported 2.8 million bpd of crude from the Middle East. Russia’s share dropped to 33.5%, as the discount on Urals narrowed, and China was the big consumer.

Bombay High Court has quashed the ₹329 crore tax demand on Grasim over stake sale in Vodafone Idea rights issue. Grasim had subscribed to 231 crore shares of VI at a price of ₹12.50 per share, but the tax department had calculated the valuation at ₹13.925 per share. This led to upward revision of capital gains and also higher tax. High Court has ruled that the fair price is not realized, so it was wrong to calculate capital gains on that price. Rights shares were offered proportionate to the holdings of Grasim in VI. Grasim’s percentage holding remained unchanged.

UBS acquired 4.8% stake in 360 One WAM through warrant conversion. UBS exercised all the 20.5 million warrants allotted to them, and paid the balance 75% of the exercise price. The warrants had been issued to UBS by 360-One WAM against the sale of UBS wealth management business to 360-One WAM. This gives UBS a 4.95% stake in 360-One WAM. As part of the deal, UBS will also service 360-One WAM customers based out of Singapore. Several big global players, which had pioneered wealth management in India, have been moving out amid rising competition.

Persistent Systems has opened its ₹4,265 crore QIP placement. The floor price has been set at ₹5,550 per share, but the final price may be lower after factoring in discount. The company was likely to offer a discount of up to 5% to investors. Book running lead managers (BRLMs) for the QIP included JP Morgan India, IIFL Capital Services, and HSBC Securities. For FY26, Persistent Systems had reported robust numbers. Persistent has closed the trading window for senior managers and directors as part of the company’s Insider Trading Code. It has presence in 18 countries.

Swiggy reported narrowing of net loss in Q2FY27 to ₹922 crore, even as revenues were up 36% yoy at ₹7,571 crore. According to Swiggy, their food delivery business delivered its best ever margins, while its affordable meals (Toing) vertical managed to unlock additional growth. However, cash burn remains a big challenge for Swiggy. The EBITDA of the food delivery business grew more than 3-fold in the quarter, with EBITDA margins touching 3.4% of gross order value (GOV). Its quick commerce vertical, Instamart, saw 31.4% NOV growth and added 69 dark stores in Q2.