Daily Market News Update — 03rd-04th September 2026

Midnight News Update: 03-04 Sep 2026

With a record $137 billion coming in through the RBI special window for FCNR(B), OFCBs, and ECBs; the rupee appreciated to a 10-week high of ₹94.45/$. This is substantially better than the all-time low of ₹96.90/$ touched in May this year. With the substantial dollar inflows, the forex reserves are likely to scale beyond $800 billion, giving 12-months of import cover. That also gives substantial leg-room to the RBI to sell dollars to defend the rupee. Of course, this means that RBI has to incur hedging cost of $19 billion over 5 years, and face a huge redemption after 5 years.

Air India may be close to receiving ₹10,000 crore from Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. The airline has had a tough time due to the crash of AI-171 last year as well as other factors like rising crude prices, war in the Gulf, and a sustained ban on usage of Pakistan airspace. Currently, Tata Sons owns 74.9% stake in Air India, while Singapore Airlines owns 25.1%. The disbursal of money will be subject to achieving certain performance milestones. In FY26, Air India had reported a net loss of ₹22,300 crore and has been one of the biggest business worries for Tata Sons.

Talking of the substantial inflow of $127 billion in the form of FCNR(B) deposits in 3 months, the IFSC Gift City route alone has been responsible for FCNR(B) deposit inflows of $53 billion, which is around 42% of the total FCNR(B) deposits raised. The forex swap is facilitated through the IBUs (International Banking Units) at GIFT City IFSC. The banking units had disbursed loans of around $54 billion to fund these deposits. The GIFT City in Gujarat is being positioned as India’s answer to global financial centres; essentially to avoid the export of capital to other markets.

ARCIL will come out with the first asset reconstruction IPO worth ₹733 crore. The IPO opens for subscription on 09-September; and the price band has been fixed in the range of ₹132-₹139 per share. The ARCIL IPO will be entirely an offer for sale (OFS), with no fresh issue component in the IPO. SBI is among the early shareholders in ARCIL that will partially exit its stake via the OFS. The anchor allotment is expected to happen on 08-September. The offer closes on 11-September and the allotment status will be finalized on 15-September, while it will list on 17-September.

SEBI is proposing net settlement of cash market trades for mutual funds. While foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) already enjoy this facility, it will be extended to mutual funds for the first time. Today, mutual fund settlement happens on a gross basis, where the purchases and sales are settled on a gross basis. By shifting to the net settlement basis, it will improve the settlement efficiency for mutual funds as well as reduce the funding requirements. However, the net settlement will only be permitted at the level of an individual mutual fund scheme (purchases and sales).

FMCG companies in India are bracing themselves up for a tough FY27 as they face sustained cost pressures. However, the risk this year is not just of higher crude prices, but also of higher prices of food and agricultural products. Apart from crude-linked costs, even the commodity input costs are seeing a rise. With competition tightening, the ability of FMCG companies to seamlessly pass on the higher costs to consumers is also limited. One of the key ingredients (sugar), has spiked by 20% over the previous quarter. Even cereal based products are facing wheat and rice inflation.

While the overall auto numbers were robust in August, the auto exports had a mixed month. Logistic disruption in the Middle East, the risks to the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab-al-Mandeb; have all contributed to pressure the export movement. The impact of weak exports was not really felt as domestic demand continued to be robust. The export performance of most OEMs were under pressure in August. Maruti saw 29% growth in domestic sales, contrasted by 7% contraction in exports. Even Hyundai saw 31% fall in exports. Two-wheeler exports were more stable.

Even as the passage of ships through the Straits of Hormuz remains disrupted, Syria is positioning itself as the gateway for Middle East oil. Currently, about 5,000 oil trucks travel daily from Iraqi oil fields to the Syrian port of Baniyas. It gives direct access to the Mediterranean Sea, and while the ships still need to traverse the Bab-al-Mandeb in some cases, it is working perfectly. The next step is to set up 1,000-mile oil pipeline at a cost of $5.7 billion from the Iraqi oilfields directly to Baniyas. The lifting of sanctions Syria has also come at the right time; to move up to 2 million bpd.