Markets

Paytm shares fell around 8% on Monday after the RBI banned its payments bank unit. The move threatens key revenue streams and could disrupt wallet and merchant settlement services for millions of users.

Kotak Mahindra Bank posted a net profit of Rs 4,026.55 crore in Q4 FY26, up 13.3% from a year ago, with net interest income rising 8%. The results signal steady earnings momentum, though investors will watch asset quality and margin data for a fuller picture.

Berkshire Hathaway beat earnings estimates as its cash reserves continued to grow, signaling ongoing caution on deals and buybacks. Investor focus is sharpening on the succession plan for Warren Buffett, with Greg Abel identified as heir apparent.

Foreign portfolio investors pulled ₹13,944 crore out of Indian markets in a holiday-shortened week, with equities hit hardest. Rising crude prices, a firm dollar, and global geopolitical tensions are driving the risk-off move away from emerging markets including India.

Kotak Mahindra Bank's Q4 profit beat estimates as lower provisions boosted earnings and asset quality improved. Gross NPA fell to 1.20% from 1.30%, and net NPA dropped to 0.25% from 0.31% quarter-on-quarter. The bank also declared a dividend.

The RBI formally cancelled Paytm Payments Bank's licence under the Banking Regulation Act, citing governance failures and non-compliance, sending Paytm shares down as much as 8.37%.

Crude oil prices rose nearly 2.5% on Monday after US-Iran peace talks stalled and the Strait of Hormuz stayed shut, squeezing global supply. Goldman Sachs raised its Brent Q4 forecast to $90 per barrel, signalling tighter conditions ahead.

India's Nifty posted its best monthly gain since December 2023 in April, with defence, capital markets, and realty stocks leading the rally. Midcap and smallcap indices outperformed, while banks and IT saw only moderate recovery.

Amazon's Q1 revenue beat Wall Street estimates, with AWS recording its fastest growth rate in 15 quarters. The result signals that enterprise cloud and AI spending is accelerating, strengthening Amazon's position against Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Paytm shares fell 8% after the RBI cancelled Paytm Payments Bank's licence, then recovered as Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, and Bernstein held their buy ratings. All three brokerages said the financial impact is limited because Paytm's core business is structurally separate from PPBL.

Brokerage Emkay warns that petrol and diesel prices in India may need to rise by up to ₹20 per litre within three to six months if crude stays above $100 per barrel. India's crude basket is already near $110, leaving OMCs with under-recoveries of ₹18, 20 per litre even after the March 2026 excise duty cut.

US stock futures dipped as ceasefire talks with Iran stalled, pushing Brent crude above $108 a barrel. Elevated oil prices risk squeezing corporate margins ahead of major tech earnings reports due this week.

Temasek, LIC, and a Canadian pension fund plan to sell stakes in NSE's IPO, valuing the exchange at $55 billion with the share sale sized at $2.75 billion. The listing would rank among India's largest IPOs and bring the country's dominant stock exchange into public markets.

Maruti Suzuki India's Q4 standalone net profit fell 7% year-on-year to Rs 3,591 crore, even as revenue from operations surged 28% to Rs 52,449 crore. The gap signals meaningful margin pressure, with rising costs likely offsetting the gains from higher sales.

Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.6% after the Wall Street Journal reported OpenAI missed its user and sales targets, rattling AI-driven tech valuations. Crude oil crossing $110 a barrel added pressure by raising inflation and margin concerns across the broader market.

India's 10-year government bond yield hit a three-week high on Tuesday after crude oil crossed $110 a barrel following a breakdown in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks. Higher oil raises India's import bill and inflation risk, pressuring the RBI to keep rates tight.

Bank stocks fell after analysts warned the RBI's shift to an Expected Credit Loss provisioning framework from April 2027 will raise provisioning requirements and squeeze margins, with PSU banks seen as most at risk. The change aligns India with global standards but pressures near-term earnings.

The Nasdaq fell 1.12% and the S&P 500 dropped 0.56% as investors grew cautious about AI-linked stocks, while the Dow rose 0.22%. The split signals a rotation away from high-growth tech names as markets demand harder proof that AI spending is turning into real earnings.

Federal Reserve officials who voted against this week's post-meeting statement said they objected to language that implied the central bank's next rate move would be a cut. Their dissent is about forward guidance, the words the Fed uses to steer market expectations, not the rate decision itself. The split signals an internal disagreement over how soon and how clearly the Fed should point toward easing.

S&P 500 companies are on pace for their sharpest quarterly profit growth in four years, fuelled by strong results from the largest technology firms. Big Tech carries outsized index weight, so its earnings performance significantly lifts the blended growth rate for the whole index. The focus now shifts to whether profit gains are broad across sectors or concentrated in a few mega-cap names.