Apple’s lucky charm: India 🇮🇳

Spotify’s bet on India, foreign investors get a break, and a billionaire bounce back.

🗓️ Morning, folks! ☀️

Before we begin, here’s a question: What do you think is the hottest subject to study in this day and age?

Well, if you’re strolling across Harvard’s campus, the answer might not be computer science or business studies, but drumroll... humanities!

A course called Hum 10 has seen applications jump 40%, with 180 first-year students competing for just 90 seats.

The course takes students through literary classics from Homer to James Joyce, with hefty weekly reading, regular essays, faculty-led discussions and, wait for it, no devices allowed in class.

The growing interest is particularly interesting at a time when AI is touted to usher in a wave of “anti-intellectualism.”

Students seem to be looking for something these shortcuts can’t quite offer: the ability to think critically, form their own interpretations and engage deeply with ideas.

As AI takes over more routine tasks, skills like creativity, storytelling and critical thinking are becoming increasingly valuable in the workplace, making this course a lucrative one.

Moving on,

Indian markets extended their winning streak for a fourth straight session, with the Sensex rising 1.6% and the Nifty gaining 1.58%, both hitting two-month highs.

On the sectoral front, FMCG, realty and private banking stocks led the rally, while PSU banks, metals and energy stocks ended lower.

The bigger boost came from falling crude oil prices, hopes of easing US-Iran tensions, strong corporate earnings and renewed foreign investor buying, all of which lifted market sentiment.

💡 Spotlight: FM’s remarks lift capital market stocks 🔥

Capital market stocks, including Angel One, Central Depository Services (India) (CDSL) and Motilal Oswal Financial Services, rose 3-7% in Tuesday’s session.

What drove the gains: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government would consider investors’ concerns about high Indian stock valuations and capital gains taxes.

Her comments came amid continued selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and calls to review long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on shares to make Indian markets more attractive.

What could change: foreign investors could get a tax break on profits from selling shares listed on Indian stock exchanges.

For Indian investors, the relief could be smaller. Currently, the first ₹1.25 lakh of eligible long-term share profits each year is tax-free. The government could increase this amount, allowing investors to keep more of their profits without paying tax.

But removing the tax completely looks less likely. The government collected ₹1.29 lakh crore from LTCG tax in FY2024-25, so scrapping it would mean losing substantial revenue.

Let’s hit it! 💪🏻

1 Big Thing: Good show for SBI 🫡

India’s largest lender SBI reported Q2 earnings that beat market estimates on almost all key parameters.

Key numbers 📊:

Net profit: up 14.3% at ₹23,038 cr vs ₹20,160 cr (YoY)
Net Interest Income: up 14.3% at ₹49,143 cr vs ₹42,847 cr (YoY)
Gross NPA: at 1.39% vs 1.47% (QoQ)
Net NPA: at 0.36% vs 0.38% (QoQ)

FYI: both NPA measures track bad loans, with net NPA accounting for money already set aside to cover potential losses.

Breaking it down: however, operating profit fell 1.4% YoY to ₹26,937 crore from ₹27,311 crore, pointing to pressure on the bank’s core business.

Reported net profit benefited from stake sales. SBI booked a ₹7,288 crore pre-tax gain from selling a 6.3% stake in SBI Funds Management.

It also earned ₹2,410 crore after tax from selling shares in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) IPO.

Why did the stock fall: higher government bond yields and rising expenses added pressure on SBI’s earnings.

Banks must keep part of their deposits in assets such as government bonds. SBI and other state-owned banks generally hold more of these bonds than private banks such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.

While we are on earnings 💸,

NSE posted a 23% year-on-year increase in Q2FY27 consolidated net profit to ₹2,578 crore, driven by higher trading volumes.

Revenue from transaction charges rose 9% to ₹3,035 crore, while operating EBITDA more than doubled to ₹3,079 crore.

This is the exchange’s first quarterly earnings report since its Dalal Street debut in September 2026.

2. Apple Q4 beats street estimates 💸

Apple reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of FY2026, but its shares fell after its guidance missed investor expectations.

By the numbers:

Revenue: $114.48 billion vs. $113.39 billion expected
Earnings per share: $2.10 vs. $1.99 expected

Rising memory-chip costs continue to be Apple’s biggest challenge, partly driven by the AI infrastructure boom. Some flash-memory prices have risen more than 500% from 2023 levels, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The India business: Apple posted its highest-ever revenue in India, driven by growth across iPhone, Mac and Services, CEO John Ternus said.

Mac and Services each recorded all-time revenue highs, while iPhone upgrades reached a September-quarter record.

According to Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 17 was India’s most-shipped smartphone model during the quarter, while the MacBook Neo achieved record sales.

Key headwinds: Apple expects its gross margin to fall to 45-46% in the December quarter, from 47.9% in Q4.

It also forecasts Services revenue growth of 8-9%, below the 10.7% analysts expected, helping explain why its shares fell despite beating quarterly estimates.

Reliance’s Campa-led beverage business clocked ₹5,250 crore in revenue in the first half of FY27, nearly matching its entire FY26 sales in just six months.

After acquiring Campa for a reported ₹22 crore in 2022, Reliance has used cheaper ₹10 bottles, attractive retailer margins and rapid distribution expansion to challenge Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

But with the two giants still controlling nearly 70% of India’s carbonated drinks market, can Campa turn its aggressive growth into a profitable business?

Did you know that India is among Spotify’s largest and fastest-growing markets in terms of monthly active users?

Industry estimates put Spotify’s user base in India at close to 150 million, compared with 788 million users worldwide at the end of the third quarter of 2026.

People are increasingly gravitating towards artist-first music, and the numbers reflect this shift.

The number of artists earning more than ₹1 crore on the platform has grown by 21% over the past year, while the number earning more than ₹5 crore has doubled in the last three years.

We also did a video on this. Watch here.

5. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀

What went up ⬆️

🔥 Trident surged 7% after Q2 profit jumped 93% and the company announced a ₹4,650 crore expansion and modernisation plan.

⚡️Marico rose 10% after strong Q2 earnings and an upgraded FY27 outlook with brokerages projecting up to 35% upside.

📈 ESDS Software hit the 5% upper circuit after Q2 revenue rose 47.5% year-on-year to ₹138.3 crore.

🥳 Reliance Industries recovered to close higher, adding nearly ₹2 lakh crore in market value over the past two trading sessions.

😋 Pfizer gained 5% after Q2 profit rose 65.6% to ₹313 crore, aided by a ₹132 crore one-time gain, while operating revenue grew 13.2%.

What went down ⬇️

📉 Power Grid fell 3% after the company lowered its FY27 capitalisation guidance to ₹25,000-30,000 crore from the ₹30,000 crore target.

What else are we snackin’ 🍿

💰 Big borrowing: Adani is reportedly seeking a $1.5 billion loan to fund its data centre ambitions, as it eyes a $100 billion investment in digital infrastructure by 2035.

🤖 India takes over: India is now ChatGPT’s largest market by weekly active users, with its user base doubling since January as OpenAI ramps up local infrastructure, language support and business partnerships.

💸 Billionaire bounceback: a 12% rally in Reliance shares added $8.5 billion to Mukesh Ambani’s wealth, taking it to $88.8 billion and making him Asia’s richest person again.

🫢 Bigger pours: India’s bulk Scotch imports surged nearly 1,000% year-on-year to $12.39 million in August after the India-UK deal cut import duties.

That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.

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Disclaimer: this newsletter is for informational and research purposes only. Nothing here should be considered financial, investment, legal, or professional advice.