_Markets open — regular session_
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
📊 *ECONOMY & POLICY*
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
📉 *Crude Jumps Over 4% As US-Iran Strikes Escalate*
Brent rose over 4% toward $79-80/bbl and WTI gained a similar amount after fresh US-Iran strikes, with Iran claiming Hormuz is closed — a claim US Centcom disputes.
Sustained escalation keeps India’s oil import bill, inflation and OMC margins in the crosshairs this week.
📎 _Read: IANS (via Business Standard syndication)_
https://ianslive.in/crude-oil-prices-jump-over-4-pc-as-us-iran-tensions-escalate–20260713095326
🛣️ *NaBFID Flags ₹770 Lakh Crore Infra Investment Need*
NaBFID chief Rajkiran Rai says India’s 20-year infrastructure requirement can’t be met by budgetary resources alone and needs much larger private-capital participation.
A structural tailwind theme for infra, cement and capital-goods names over the next decade.
📎 _Read: Economic Times_
💡 *118-Year-Old Calcutta Stock Exchange Plans Comeback*
CSE will withdraw its voluntary SEBI exit application and revive with new trading technology, backed by over Rs 300 crore net worth.
A niche but symbolic story on regional market-infrastructure revival; success hinges on commercial viability for local brokers.
📎 _Read: Economic Times_
🤝 *India, New Zealand Elevate Ties, Target ₹35,000 Cr Trade*
PM Modi and PM Luxon elevated ties to a strategic partnership, targeting a doubling of two-way trade to roughly ₹35,000 crore by 2030, alongside 10 agreements including navy logistics support.
New Zealand also flagged a $20 billion India investment plan over 15 years — a positive long-term diversification signal.
📎 _Read: The Tribune_
🔋 *Recyclers Urge Govt To Scrap Aluminium Import Duty*
MRAI has asked the PMO to abolish the 2.5% customs duty on aluminium scrap, noting India imports 80-85% of its requirement and that copper, zinc and lead scrap are already duty-free.
A removal would lower input costs for MSME recyclers and downstream auto/steel manufacturers if approved.
📎 _Read: Business Standard_
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
🏢 *COMPANIES*
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
🏦 *HDFC Bank Trims Staff, First Cut In 9 Years*
India’s largest private lender cut headcount by 3,343 to 211,000 in FY26 — its first reduction since FY17 — as it redeploys backend staff into customer-facing roles amid its AI push via its in-house “Neev” platform.
Axis Bank saw a similar ~3,100 cut, suggesting tech-driven productivity gains are now showing up sector-wide in private banks’ cost bases.
📎 _Read: Business Standard_
💻 *TCS Doubles Down On AI, Talks To Model Makers*
TCS is building a team of up to 8,900 forward-deployed AI engineers and is evaluating acquisitions in AI, data security and cybersecurity, positioning itself against in-house deployment teams at OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft.
Note: the specific BusinessLine story on TCS’s sovereign-AI talks with Indian model developers could not be verified directly (BusinessLine blocks direct fetch); this is the closest freshly-verified TCS AI story via Reuters-sourced coverage.
📎 _Read: Business Recorder (Reuters)_
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
🌍 *GLOBAL & WORLD*
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
🤝 *Israel To Hold Elections On October 27*
Netanyahu will complete his full four-year term before Israel’s first on-schedule general election in nearly four decades, shaped by war, security and political survival.
Worth watching for any shift in Middle East policy direction that could affect the Iran conflict and oil markets.
📎 _Read: NDTV Profit_
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
_Compiled by InvestoScope · 13 Jul 2026_