Newsletter
Pharma goes global, Maruti Suzuki in sixth gear, and infra orders booming.
🗓️ Morning, folks! ☀️
Bloodbath on Dalal Street. The Sensex plunged nearly 1,000 points, while Trump ends Iran ceasefire, markets tumble and oil jumps as fresh US-Iran tensions raise fears of a wider conflict.the Nifty fell over 2% within 30 minutes on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump's latest remarks on Iran.
Every sectoral index ended in the red, with PSU banks and chemical stocks leading the losses.
HDFC Bank was the biggest contributor to the Nifty 50’s decline followed by Reliance, ICICI, Bharti Airtel and L&T, all of which fell more than 2%.
Meanwhile, as oil prices climbed amid rising tensions between the US & Iran, upstream oil companies like ONGC and Oil India bucked the trend. That’s because higher crude prices generally boost the earnings of companies that produce oil.
On today's radar: TCS, Anand Rathi Wealth and GM Breweries will announce their quarterly results.
💡 Spotlight: Did you know? 1.54 crore people flew in May ✈️
IndiGo’s market share dipped to around 64.9%, but it remains the biggest player. Almost 2 out of every 3 domestic passengers flew the airline.
Air India also climbed higher, with its market share rising to 25.6% from 24.7% in April.
Akasa Air held around a 6% market share, but its flights operated at a 93% load factor. The industry average is usually around 85%. So, that’s nice efficiency for Akasa.
SpiceJet’s market share fell to 2.5%, and it also had a high cancellation rate of 4.04%, whereas the industry-wide cancellation was about 0.55%.
In May, 63,723 passengers were affected by cancellations in May and airlines shelled out Rs 70.32 lakh towards compensation and facilities.
Indian airlines carried 9.5% more passengers in May than they did in April. However, from January to May, passenger traffic grew only 1.91% year-on-year. So overall growth for the year so far is still modest.
Let’s hit it! 💪🏻
1 Big thing: US and Iran are back at it ⚔️
Indian and global markets are bracing up for another phase of volatility as tensions escalated again between the US and Iran. Just weeks after announcing a ceasefire, Donald Trump says it’s over.
Speaking to reporters, the US President said he no longer wanted to deal with Iran and declared the ceasefire effectively dead. His comments came after both countries accused each other of breaking the agreement reached last month.
Later, he also warned that Washington was preparing for another wave of strikes against Iran.
Meanwhile, India voiced serious concern over the renewed tensions, calling on both the US and Iran to avoid further escalation, return to diplomatic talks and ensure that global energy supplies and trade routes remain uninterrupted.
So what happened: according to the US, three commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, came under attack on Tuesday.
Washington blamed Iran and responded with what it called a ‘series of powerful strikes,’ hitting more than 80 targets, including air defence systems, anti-ship missile sites, command centres and over 60 Revolutionary Guard boats.
At the same time, the US also revoked a waiver that had allowed Iran to continue selling oil.
He said, she said situation: Iran has rejected the accusations, calling the strikes a ‘gross violation’ of last month’s peace agreement. It also vowed a ‘crushing response’.
In response, Iran retaliated with strikes targeting Bahrain and Kuwait. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted more than 85 US military facilities.
The impact: oil markets reacted immediately. Crude prices jumped as traders worried that tensions around the Strait of Hormuz could once again disrupt global oil supplies.
For India, which imports around 90% of its crude oil, a prolonged conflict could mean costlier oil imports and renewed pressure on inflation.
2. SEPC makes a big UAE bet. So why did the stock fall? 👎🏻
Engineering and infrastructure firm SEPC’s shares fell on Wednesday even after its board approved the acquisition of up to a 90% stake in UAE-based Avenir International Engineers and Consultants LLC.
Avenir is an engineering consultancy serving the UAE's oil & gas and civil infrastructure sectors.
Its biggest advantage is its pre-qualification to work with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world's largest oil producers.
The deal explained: the acquisition will be completed through a share swap, meaning SEPC will issue 153 crore new shares at ₹10 each instead of paying cash. The deal values Avenir at ₹1,530 crore and is expected to close by December 2026.
So why did the stock still fall: investors were concerned about dilution.
Because SEPC is issuing 153 crore new shares to complete the acquisition, existing shareholders' ownership will be diluted, which often weighs on the stock in the short term.
While we are on acquisitions 💸,
Marksans Pharma signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Germany-based ABCnow GmbH for €892,384 (around ₹81 lakh) in an all-cash deal.
What do the companies do: Marksans Pharma manufactures and sells generic medicines and over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare products across global markets.
Germany-based ABCnow GmbH is a pharmaceutical wholesaler that distributes OTC medicines across the country.
Why does the acquisition matter: the acquisition gives Marksans its own distribution network in Germany, allowing it to sell products manufactured in India, the UK and the US directly to the German market.
3. Antibiotic deal lifts Orchid Pharma ☝️
Shares of Orchid Pharma jumped 10% intraday, marking its biggest single-day gain since August 2024.
The rally came after the company signed an exclusive licensing and supply agreement with Russia’s leading drugmaker, Pharmasyntez, for its antibiotic used to treat multi-drug resistant bacterial infections.
So, what does Orchid Pharma actually do?
The company makes both the raw ingredients (APIs) used in antibiotics and the finished medicines themselves.
What’s the deal: through its partnership with Pharmasyntez, Orchid will introduce its antibiotic, Exblifep, to patients in Russia. The company estimates the opportunity could be worth around $178 million over the next decade.
How the business is doing: after posting losses in the previous two quarters, Orchid made a strong comeback in Q4FY26.
Revenue climbed to a record ₹237.6 crore, while net profit rose to ₹23.8 crore. Profit before tax surged 917%, and operating margins improved sharply from 0.76% to 11.3%.
4. Winners of June auto sales 👑
India’s car market kept cruising in June.
Maruti Suzuki comfortably retained its lead in passenger vehicle sales, while Tata Motors stayed ahead of Mahindra to hold the second spot.
Most carmakers reported healthy year-on-year growth, although several saw sales ease compared to the previous month, suggesting demand remains resilient despite a slower monthly pace.
5. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
What went up ⬆️
💸 PC Jeweller shares rose 2% after the company said it is on track to become debt-free during the current quarter and has repaid outstanding dues to two consortium banks.
📈 Balaji Amines jumped over 6% and Alkyl Amines gained 3% as hopes of anti-dumping duties continued to lift amines stocks.
🛢️ ONGC shares gained 1% as crude oil prices surged over 5%, boosting earnings prospects for oil producers amid supply concerns.
⚡️ INOX India zoomed nearly 5% after securing ₹939 crore worth of orders across industrial gas, LNG and cryo-scientific businesses since May 21.
What went down ⬇️
🔻 IndiGo shares fell over 5% after its market share declined in May, while rising crude oil prices added pressure on airline stocks.
📉 South Indian Bank shares plunged over 8% despite RBI approving the appointment of its next Managing Director and CEO.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
🎓 Edtech funding: Elevate Education has raised ₹170 crore in a Series D round led by WestBridge Capital to strengthen its AI capabilities, expand partner institutions and enhance student outcomes.
🚗 Capacity expansion: Uno Minda will invest ₹320 crore in a greenfield plant to manufacture passenger vehicle seating systems, marking its entry into the segment through its joint venture with Japan’s TACHI-S.
🤖 AI rollout: OpenAI has received US approval for a broad rollout of GPT-5.6 and expects to make the model widely available later this week.
☁️ AI expansion: Google will expand its AI data centre footprint in India to meet rising demand for cloud and AI services, according to Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
And if you’d like to place your brand on this newsletter, let us know.
Hit that 💚 if you liked this issue.
