India will sharply raise taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products in February 2026, lifting GST to a flat 40% and adding a tiered additional excise duty of ₹2,100–8,500 per 1,000 sticks. Market leader ITC reported cigarette business revenue of ₹16,596.67 crore in the June quarter of FY27, up 73.71% year on year, and said the increase reflected staggered price hikes in response to the tax jump. The shift is adding fundamental pressure on traditional tobacco stocks that rely on volume growth.

Samsung Electronics’ chief financial officer warned that shortages of data-storage memory chips such as DRAM and NAND are likely to deepen in 2027 and remain tight through 2028. Spot prices have already surged, with a 16GB RAM module rising from HK$300–400 to HK$1,500. PC hardware sellers in places including Tokyo’s Akihabara say prices for RAM, graphics cards and motherboards have reached “ridiculous levels.” The episode underscores a supply-demand imbalance in memory chips, a key electronic component, with dynamics resembling a commodity-style price shock.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities in July 2024 after four straight months of net selling, bringing in Rs 20,200 crore. The shift was attributed to more attractive valuations in India, improved corporate earnings expectations and easing global macro headwinds. FPIs had previously logged a net equity inflow of Rs 22,615 crore in February before a run of outflows. The Q1 FY27 results season and the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy meeting scheduled for August 5 are among the next key domestic catalysts to watch.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission paused its conditional approval of Nasdaq’s Phlx cash-settled bitcoin index options, ticker QBTC, which had been granted on an expedited basis in May. The move follows a petition from CME Group challenging whether the product should fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than the SEC. The SEC has opened a public comment period that runs through August 24, while the commission reviews the petition. QBTC is designed to track the Nasdaq Bitcoin Index, which is derived from the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index.

Syngene International reported a consolidated net loss of ₹90 million for Q1FY27 ended June 30, 2026, reversing a profit of ₹867 million a year earlier. The downturn was driven mainly by a ₹501 million foreign-exchange fluctuation loss and ₹135 million in exceptional termination benefits. Consolidated revenue fell 16% year on year to ₹7,360 million, while the operating EBITDA margin narrowed to 12.34% from 23.60%. The results point to pressure on profitability and higher sensitivity to currency moves.

AGI Greenpac said consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 rose 11.8% year on year to ₹99.35 crore. Revenue from operations climbed 14.2% to ₹785.27 crore, driven by higher sales volumes in its core packaging products segment. Finance costs fell sharply to ₹9.86 crore from ₹17.07 crore a year earlier, supporting the increase in profit.

Paushak Limited reported Q1 FY27 revenue from operations of ₹8,355 lakh, up 49.5% year on year for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Profit after tax rose 25.5% to ₹1,510 lakh. EBITDA increased to ₹257M from ₹178M.

Pakistan’s total imports of the petroleum group climbed 5.76% year on year to $16.863 billion in FY202526 (July–June). Crude oil imports rose 31.58% to $7.166 billion, while petroleum products imports increased 7.05% to $6.386 billion. LPG imports edged up 3.21% to $1.089 billion, while LNG imports fell 36.10% to $2.221 billion.