India’s sugar recovery rate has continued to decline, tightening supply and lifting prices. Wholesale sugar prices rose to Rs 5,747 per quintal in September, up more than 30% from June. Sugar companies’ procurement costs remain elevated, prompting Bikaji Foods to begin rolling out a roughly 2% price increase. Analysts warn prices for festive-season staples such as biscuits and sweets could rise another 2–5%.

Brent crude rose about 8% last week, hovering near $95 a barrel as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions fueled worries about potential supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. India’s foreign-exchange reserves climbed to a record $740.8 billion as of August 28, giving the central bank a larger buffer to manage currency swings. In the U.S., August nonfarm payrolls increased by 1,62,000, keeping uncertainty around the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook in focus.

South Korea’s KOSPI opened sharply higher on Monday, up 3.33% in early trade. The gains came even as tensions in the Middle East intensified, with technology stocks leading the advance. The PHLX semiconductor index rose 3.38% after OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra, fueling expectations of stronger demand for memory chips.

India’s markets regulator is preparing a consultation paper on settlement for weekly-expiry options on the Nifty and Sensex, and may reinstate a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) method. It is also considering settling monthly-expiry stock futures and options using either the prior VWAP approach or a blend of VWAP and closing auction system (CAS) prices. Before CAS was introduced on Aug. 3, both stock and index derivatives were settled using the last 30 minutes’ VWAP.

Fund managers are bullish on ASX 200 constituent James Hardie Industries. The company plans to sell its European Fermacell business to Holcim for €840 million, and lifted its full-year outlook on that basis. James Hardie forecasts FY27 total net sales of $5.564 billion to $5.723 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $1.536 billion to $1.625 billion, and free cash flow of at least $500 million.

PG&E said it plans to reduce its 2027 investments by about $2 billion, citing the rising financial burden of California’s wildfire liability rules. The decision follows California lawmakers ending their legislative session without an agreement to change how major investor-owned utilities cover wildfire costs. Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee Chair Cottie Petrie-Norris said utilities rely on borrowing to finance large construction projects, and higher borrowing costs can ultimately be passed on to customers, according to KCRA 3.

Nine ASX mining shares are due to go ex-dividend this week. BHP declared a FY26 final dividend of 99 US cents a share, implying a 72% payout ratio and marking a 65% increase from its FY25 final dividend—the largest final dividend in four years. Sandfire Resources was supported by an 18% rise in the copper price in FY26, while Mineral Resources benefited from a 278% jump in lithium spodumene prices and a 7% lift in iron ore prices. Genesis Minerals and other gold miners were helped by an 18% increase in the gold price, and Genesis is paying its first dividend this season.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington is carrying out a large-scale economic isolation effort dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast” aimed at tightly blockading Iran. He said about 30 million barrels of Iranian crude are unable to be exported and cannot be replenished through new shipments. The Iranian rial has fallen more than 60% since March, inflation has climbed above 80%, and the IMF projects the economy will contract 6.1% this year. Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen to about 18 million barrels a day, down from pre-war levels.