Daily Market News Update — 06th-07th August 2026

Midnight News Update: 06-07 Aug 2026

In a significant announcement, the RBI has retained the name of Tata Sons in its latest classification of 17 NBFCs under the Upper Layer list. Being in the Upper Layer means the NBFC is subjected to more stringent regulation. It may be recollected that Tata Sons had repaid all its deposits and made an application to the RBI to exempt the holding company from listing requirements. The question is whether the RBI will now draw a line between more stringent regulation and need for listing. After all, Tata Sons has a problem with mandatory listing, not with tighter regulation.

For Q1FY27, LIC of India reported 23% higher net profits at ₹13,492 crore, with APE up 8.22% yoy. Total income was up 6.7% yoy at ₹2,37,848 crore. Like in the past, LIC first year premium collections remained robust, growing 22.5% to ₹9,217 crore in Q1FY27. Net premium income for the quarter stood at ₹1,27,250 crore. LIC saw solvency ratio in the quarter improve from 2.17X to 2.42X. Shares of LIC continued to be under pressure, although that can be attributed to the recent OFS by the government. Incidentally, LIC saw ₹21,000 crore MTM gains on IT stocks in last 35 days.

In an interesting move, Iran and Oman have agreed on a 60-day timeframe to resume normal traffic in the Straits of Hormuz. The details are expected to be announced over the next few days. Iran was categorical that it was a bilateral deal between Iran and Oman; and the US was not party to it. Under the deal, ships entering the Straits of Hormuz will use the shipping lane closes to Iran, while ships exiting the Straits of Hormuz will use the lane closest to Oman. Regional sides will be part of mine clearance and other formalities. The onus is now on the US to lift its Iran blockade.

Morgan Stanley sees the India rate hike cycle starting from December 2026, and has estimated 3 rate hikes of 25 bps each by April 2027. The repo rates, therefore, would move up from 5.25% to 6.00%, which Morgan Stanley believes, will be sufficient to rein in inflation. The headline inflation is expected to stay well above 5%, largely led by food and fuel inflation. Interestingly, Morgan Stanley expects headline core inflation at 4.3%, with ex-precious metals inflation rising from 2.3% to 4.0%. GDP growth is likely to remain strong at 6.7% in FY27 and 7.0% in FY28.

In recent months, gold buyers are shifting amidst falling gold prices. However, India presents a more mixed picture. Globally, the biggest gold buying central banks have been Uzbekistan, China, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, and Singapore. Turkey was the biggest gold seller in recent months. RBI gold reserves have remained steady at 880 tonnes, with the 400-bps accretion in share of reserves coming from price. Indian jewellery demand fell in volume terms, though it is higher in value terms. Investment demand across bullion and gold ETFs is also down sharply.

Kotak Mutual Fund sees India reporting a balance of payments (BOP) surplus in FY27, supported by strong capital inflows. India has already seen its base of FCNR(B) deposits doubling in the last 2 months after the special window opened by the RBI. Flows from FCNR(B) deposits, OFCBs, and ECBs combined in the last 2 months has been closer to $40 billion. Kotak is also expecting a 50-bps rate hike by the RBI in FY27, which could act as a magnet for further capital flows into India. In the last couple of years, the BOP deficit had widened due to a sharp fall in capital inflows.

The Indo-Russian BrahMos missile is becoming a highly sought-after missile in the global defence market. BrahMos brings to the table advantages like supersonic speed, precision strike capability, and multi-platform versatility. Demand from central Asia and Latin America has been growing as even smaller countries are rushing to boost their defence spending. BrahMos has a range of 290 to 500 KM, with a weight of around 3,000 KG, and speed of 3.5 MACH (3.5 times the speed of sound). With unit costs of $3-5 million, BrahMos continues to be an affordable option.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) opened its 1,20,000 SFT global capability centre (GCC) in Hyderabad, which is fast emerging as a hub for GCCs. It plans to take its employee strength to 1,600. The Hyderabad GCC will support JLL globally with work spanning finance, HR, property management, project management, global controllership, design support, cost management, investment modelling, sales support, and technology enablement. JLL Hyderabad promises to be an AI-first operations hub. Now, JLL operates 6 GCCs globally, with 2 located in India (Gurugram and Hyderabad).