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Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Sensex today | Stock Market Live: Sensex falls over 600 points as Iran tensions and oil surge rattle markets

Candle stick graph chart of stock market investment trading, Stock exchange concept design and background. Vector illustrations. | Photo Credit: EMOJOEZ Sensex Today, Nifty 50 | Stock Market Live Updates - Find here all the live updates related to Sensex, Nifty, BSE, NSE, share prices and Indian stock markets for 13th July 2026. Indian equity markets opened sharply lower on Monday as escalating US-Iran tensions fuelled a surge in crude oil prices, dampening global risk appetite and weighing on investor sentiment. At 9.16 a.m., the Sensex was down 614.01 points, or 0.79%, at 76,955.38, while the Nifty declined 178.85 points, or 0.74%, to 24,028.05. Asian markets mirrored the cautious mood, with Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s KOSPI falling sharply amid concerns over rising energy costs and renewed geopolitical uncertainty. Brent crude climbed above $78 a barrel, raising worries over inflation, India’s import bill and corporate margins. Despite the near-term headwinds, investors will closely monitor the ongoing earnings season, with results so far broadly in line with expectations. Analysts expect corporate earnings to remain resilient over the medium term, while the recent return of foreign institutional investors as net buyers, strong domestic institutional flows and record SIP inflows are likely to provide support to the market. Crude oil trends, global developments and earnings will remain the key drivers of today’s trade. * Crude oil: Brent above $78, raising concerns over inflation and India’s import bill. * FII flows: Foreign investors turned net buyers last week, offering market support. * Domestic flows: Record SIP inflows and DII buying continue to underpin sentiment. * Key monitorables: Crude oil movement, West Asia developments, corporate earnings and FII activity. India seeks favorable trade terms in US negotiations, rejecting quick deals amid rising exports and economic resilience.

Sensex today | Stock Market Live: Sensex falls over 600 points as Iran tensions and oil surge rattle markets
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Rupee braces for pressure with oil taking centre-stage on US-Iran flare up

The Indian rupee is poised to weaken at Monday's open, with the market's ​focus swinging back to oil after Iran expanded strikes on ‌Gulf states following U.S. attacks, reviving risks to ​India's trade balance. The rupee is expected to ⁠open in the 95.55-95.60 range against the U.S. dollar on Monday, traders said, after settling at 95.3250 on Friday. For the local ‌currency, the focus has swung back to crude oil prices after hostilities between the United ‌States and Iran re-escalated, with U.S. President Donald ‌Trump ⁠saying the ceasefire is over. The rupee traded in ⁠a 94.96-95.60 range last week, largely mirroring moves in crude oil, for which India relies heavily on imports to meet its requirement. ​Traders expect that relationship to ‌persist this week with markets assessing the implications of the latest Middle East strikes and counter-strikes on energy supplies. Beyond the focus on oil, market participants are ‌watching how the Reserve Bank of India responds, a ​currency trader at a private-sector bank said. Bankers said the RBI has been providing its ⁠usual support to the rupee, and the extent of intervention could become more pronounced due to the potential impact ‌from rising oil prices. The private-sector bank trader added that he is monitoring the impact of oil-driven inflation concerns on U.S. Treasury yields. Over the weekend, Tehran expanded its attacks to Qatar and the United ‌Arab Emirates, while the United States launched fresh hits on Iran, ​in the latest part of a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks tied to shipping through ⁠the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said on Sunday that the ⁠Strait remained open to commercial traffic. Earlier, Iran had indicated the strait had been shut. "The latest exchange ‌of strikes has raised fresh doubts about the prospects for a lasting agreement, despite continuing diplomatic contacts," ​ANZ Bank said in a note. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Rupee braces for pressure with oil taking centre-stage on US-Iran flare up
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

India’s social security network expands to 100 cr citizens: Mansukh Mandaviya

India’s social protection coverage has expanded to over 100 crore citizens in 2026, up from 25 crore in 2015, said Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. The steep rise in the social protection coverage in a decade is largely due to the government bringing into the fold informal and unorganised sector workers, who comprise nearly 90 per cent of the total 50-crore workforce. Previously the government’s focus was mainly targeted at formal workers. Mandaviya, in a post on X on Wednesday, flagged the landmark validation of the country’s social security coverage by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). “India breaches 1 billion mark in Social Protection Coverage!” Mandaviya wrote on X, thanking ILO Director-General Gilbert F Houngbo “for acknowledging India’s efforts towards expanding social protection coverage”. In a video message at the BRICS Labour & Employment Minister’s Meeting in Hyderabad on Wednesday, DG Houngbo said, “According to ILO running estimates, India’s social protection system now reaches 1 billion people. This milestone offers lessons that can be shared through South-South cooperation.” Mandaviya, in another post on the social media platform, attributed to the leadership of PM Narendra Modi for steep rise in the social protection coverage, from 19 per cent in 2015 to 68.4 per cent in 2026. This brought more than 100 crore citizens under the umbrella of social protection framework, he wrote. As per the data shared by the Minister in that tweet, the social protection coverage doubled in between 2019 to 2022 if compared with percentage increase recorded in other years from 2015 to 2026. This was a culmination of government’s rapid policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- like Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and PM-JAY (Ayushman Bharat) Healthcare scale-up -- followed by a thrust toward digitising the informal workforce, with the launch of the e-Shram portal. On the contrary, the two year period between 2025 to 2026 witnessed social security coverage hike of just 6.38 per cent which is considered as stablisation of the intiative after the exponential growth. The social security coverage between 2015 to 2019 was at 28.42 per cent while it was 31.76 per cent in 2022 to 2025, as per the calculations on the basis of the Ministry’s statistics. The two-day 12th BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers Meeting ended on Wednesday, with member countries adopting a set of declaration, including to advance social security and formalisation of labour markets. Member States have agreed to commend the collective efforts in expanding social protection coverage, the Ministry of Labour and Employment stated. Members shall endeavour to progressively expand social protection coverage from existing levels as per nationally determined levels, based on respective circumstances, priorities, and capacities, the Ministry added. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

India’s social security network expands to 100 cr citizens: Mansukh Mandaviya
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Tamil Nadu to conduct first phase of Census 2027 in August; self enumeration to begin Friday

The Directorate of Census Operations, Tamil Nadu announced that it will conduct the first phase of the India’s 16th National Census in the State over the course of a month starting from August 1, 2026. Speaking at a press conference here on Thursday, Sundaresh Babu, Chief Principal Census Officer, Tamil Nadu said that the first phase will involve Houselisting and Housing Census. For the first phase, citizens can also opt for the self enumeration using the government portal from July 17 to July 31, 2026. “This is a foundational stage where we collect essential information regarding the household details. It will include 33 questions on household amenities, drinking water, sanitation, electricity internet connectivity, cooking fuel and other factors. The phase will serve as a framework for the deeper population census in the second phase scheduled for February of 2027,” he said. Meanwhile, Babu added that for the first time, the entire enumeration process will be 100 per cent digital with all the data collection to be done digitally, including by physical enumerators who will record the data on a mobile app instead of the paper based records of the past. “We have assigned 200-250 households for each enumerator. They have been selected from different government departments and have been given three full days of training for this process. Every six enumerators will have one supervisor, ” he said. Tamil Nadu has about 1,026 charges- the operational units used to organize and conduct the population count. Each charge will be led by a Charge Officer or Sub-Division Officer. Babu added that about 20 States have already completed phase one of the census and are preparing for phase 2. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Tamil Nadu to conduct first phase of Census 2027 in August; self enumeration to begin Friday
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

JSW MG expects 80% of total sales to come from NEVs

With new energy vehicles (NEVs) picking up on the Indian roads, especially after the West Asia crisis and cut in GST rates last year, JSW MG Motor India is planning to launch more NEVs in the market, which is expected to contribute 80 per cent of its overall sales this year, a top official has said. Anurag Mehrotra, Managing Director, JSW MG Motor India, told businessline that since the GST cut to 5 per cent for EVs last year, the sales have grown multifold for the whole industry and it was not only tier-I cities, but also tier-III and IV towns, where the sales are picking up. “The amount of conversation on EV cars has gone up in the last 6-12 months. Earlier, a year or two ago, one would not have asked. We have 50 per cent of sales coming from tier-I cities and the rest from tier-II, III and beyond,” he said adding that JSW MG sold around 40,000 units of NEVs last year, which was a growth of 12-13 per cent over previous year. For the industry also, Mehrotra noted that in the overall passenger vehicle industry, EV penetration was only 3.8 per cent in January this year and in June, it was over 8 per cent. “Given the growth that we are seeing today, we have already increased our headcount by almost 40 per cent at the plant to cater to the third shift that got added. We will invest ₹3,000-4,000 crore in expansion of the plant to 1.20 lakh to 3-lakh units per annum and new products development, and this year we will spend ₹1,300-1,400 crore out of that total amount,” he said while declining to comment on where the funds would come from. Meanwhile, the company unveiled a new platform called ADAPT (Advance Drive Architecture Platform Technology), under which it will launch four different vehicles in the NEV portfolio in the next one year. Designed as a future-ready modular architecture, MG ADAPT will support electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and range extender electric vehicles (REEVs), bringing multiple energy solutions together on a single intelligent platform. Mehrotra added the company would bring in the products in the shape of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) as of now. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

JSW MG expects 80% of total sales to come from NEVs
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

AP Minister Nara Lokesh apologises to Amara Raja, seeks fresh investments

Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT & Human Resources, Nara Lokesh, has on Thursday apologised Jayadev Galla, Co-founder and Chairman, of Amara Raja Energy & Mobility. Previously Andhra Pradesh based company had shifted its headquarters and investments to Telangana during the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Government in Andhra Pradesh when it was in power during 2019-24. For over four decades, Amara Raja has been more than just one of Andhra Pradesh’s greatest industrial success stories. It has created world-class manufacturing, generated thousands of jobs, and carried the name of Chittoor and Andhra Pradesh across India and the world, Lokesh said. “The harassment your company endured under the previous government should never have happened. An entrepreneur who chose to build in his home state deserved encouragement, not intimidation. It pains me that a company born in Andhra Pradesh had to look beyond our borders for its next chapter of growth,’’ the AP Minister said. Inviting Amara Raja back to Andhra Pradesh, Lokesh said: “As we rebuild trust, Andhra Pradesh is once again open for enterprise. We hope Amara Raja’s biggest chapters will still be written in the state where its journey began. Our doors, and our hearts, will always remain open. Best wishes on your new Telangana facility,’’ he said. On Wednesday Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies commissioned its Customer Qualification Plant (CQP) at its Giga Corridor in Mahbubnagar, Telangana with an investment of ₹500 crore. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

AP Minister Nara Lokesh apologises to Amara Raja, seeks fresh investments
North America
CNBC Economy

U.S. job creation cools in June with payrolls growth of just 57,000; unemployment rate at 4.2%

The U.S. economy saw job creation cool sharply heading into the summer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. Nonfarm payrolls for June increased by a seasonally adjusted 57,000 for the month, slower than the downwardly revised 129,000 added in May and worse than the 115,000 Dow Jones consensus forecast. The unemployment rate, however, dropped to 4.2%, slightly ahead of the 4.1% where it was a year ago. The move lower was largely due to a slump in the labor force participation rate, which dropped 0.3 percentage point to 61.5%, the lowest since March 2021. Household employment plummeted during the month, with 507,000 fewer people reported at work. A broader unemployment measure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons declined by 0.2 percentage point to 7.9%. Prior months also saw significant downward revisions — the May total, which had been much stronger than economists had anticipated, was cut by 43,000, while April's figure came down 31,000 to 148,000 as the report showed labor market growth significantly slower than previously thought. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% for the month and 3.5% from a year ago, both in line with the consensus forecasts. Professional and business services contributed the most, with a gain of 36,000. Social assistance added 25,000 and healthcare employment rose by 22,000, a slower-than-normal pace for the industry. Government jobs rose by 8,000. However, leisure and hospitality reported a loss of 61,000 jobs, which the BLS said reflected slower-than-usual seasonal hiring. There had been speculation that the World Cup might provide some boost to the payroll numbers, with Goldman Sachs estimating a gain of 40,000. Stock market futures rose following the report as traders eased expectations for an interest rate increase as soon as September. Treasury yields were negative, with the policy-sensitive 2-year yield down 3.5 basis points to 4.13%. "The slowdown in payroll growth challenges the narrative of renewed labor market strength that has been building in recent months but, importantly, reinforces the view that the Federal Reserve is under little pressure to tighten policy," said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. The report comes with Federal Reserve policymakers expressing mixed feelings about the economy – mostly positive on growth though apprehensive on inflation as earlier fears about weakness in the labor market have eased. However, the weak report Thursday could change the labor market view. In an appearance Wednesday, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh called the jobs picture "steady" as he continued to emphasize the importance of bringing inflation down to the central bank's 2% target. Inflation has been running north of that goal for the past five years, with the most recent surge in part due to the Iran war and ongoing impacts from tariffs.

U.S. job creation cools in June with payrolls growth of just 57,000; unemployment rate at 4.2%
Europe
BBC Business

Jackdaw boss warns of winter fuel shortages if gas field not approved

The owners of the Jackdaw gas platform in the North Sea say it is "hyper critical" that the UK government approves production to avoid the risk of domestic supply shortages this winter. Speaking to BBC News at the field 150 miles east of Aberdeen, Adura chief executive Neil McCulloch said the project was in its final stages and could meet 6% of the UK's gas needs from 1 October. The industry regulator is considering revised applications for production at Jackdaw, and Adura's Rosebank oil field west of Shetland, after a court ruled that both had been unlawfully approved. Environmental campaigners say this summer's deadly and record-breaking heatwaves demonstrate the need to tackle climate change by rejecting both projects. But McCulloch said with only about eight days of gas storage, the UK would have limited options in the event of "a gas supply emergency." He said this could come in the form of a prolonged period of still, cloudy weather which impeded the generation of wind and solar power, or hostility from "foreign threat actors". BBC News has been given exclusive access to Jackdaw which is undergoing final checks and tests to be ready for production in the event of government approval being granted. The "business-as-usual" atmosphere is somewhat surreal given the uncertainty hanging over the project, which has so far cost around £1.5bn according to Aberdeen-based Adura, a joint venture between Shell and the Norwegian state energy firm Equinor. McCulloch said: "If I were the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, I'd be looking closely at where's my next source of energy security, and you're standing on it. "The wells are drilled, they're hooked up. We're just readying the systems. It will be ready for the 1st of October. "Jackdaw will play a vital part of this winter's gas supply," he added, providing energy security, employment and taxation to the UK. Environmentalists say Jackdaw will only produce 2% of the country's annual gas demand during the lifetime of the field.

Jackdaw boss warns of winter fuel shortages if gas field not approved
Europe
BBC Business

How can I get air conditioning in my home and how much does it cost?

Image source, Getty ImagesByMichael RaceBusiness reporterPublished1 hour agoAs the UK experiences hotter summers and more regular heatwaves, households have been grappling with how to keep sweltering homes as cool as possible. Air conditioning has been in hot demand, with retailers seeing their stock fly off the shelves and units online sell out. The technology already features in many modern cars, hotels and other public places, yet historically homes have been designed to cope with cold weather and keeping heat in them. The main function of air conditioning is to cool the temperature inside a building. Portable air conditioners: The clue is in the name. They are portable, standalone units, which can be used to cool individual rooms. They are simply plugged into the nearest socket and work by drawing in warm air, cooling it, and venting heat outside through a window via a pipe or ducting. Split systems: These involve two units, one inside and one outside, that are fixed to a wall and linked by a pipe. The one outside acts as a condenser, which expels the unwanted heat into the air outside. You can buy one for just one room or you can get multiple indoor units to work with a single outdoor condenser, according to LG, the household appliance and white goods retailer. British Gas says, external such "ductless systems" are one of the most common options for UK homes. Ducted air con: These systems are designed to serve the entire home, with a central unit pushing cooled air through a network of ducting, with vents in each room. Unlike the other options, this would require invasive renovation work to an existing property. Portable units are the cheapest form of air con, ranging from £350 to £650 on average, depending on the brand and performance, according to Checkatrade., external However, as demand has soared in recent weeks some retailers began selling the cooling machines for £149, as Lidl did in its infamous middle aisles. Wall mounted or split air con units can cost between £750 and £1,100 each, Checkatrade says - but that is just the unit, and does not include the labour and other installation costs, such as hooking it up to the property's electricity fuse board. Installation company Heatable suggests, external a full cost is typically £2,000 to £3,500, but can go up to £6,000 if you want to have it in more than one room. Ducted air con systems cost the most, between £990 and £1,750 without installation costs, according to Checkatrade. Fitting the ducting or remedial work to hide it inside properties means it is likely to be more expensive than any of the other systems given the level of work involved. Heatable estimates it to be between £5,000 and £10,000, depending on the property size, layout and how complex the ductwork needs to be. The size of both split and ducted units are determined by what is known as the BTU (British Thermal Unit), Checkatrade says, to ensure it will cool the space it's required to. The larger the BTU number, the bigger the room to cool, and therefore the more expensive the unit.

How can I get air conditioning in my home and how much does it cost?