Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, raised its 2026-27 farmgate price by 2.4% to 42,400 cedis a ton to ensure farmers earn at least 70% of the free-on-board export value. Neighboring Ivory Coast kept its price unchanged earlier this month at $2,084 a ton. Cocoa futures are trading at around $5,600 per ton, nearly double the level when Ivory Coast set its price, underscoring continued supply tightness in West Africa.

Microsoft shares rose 4% to $517.48 after the company rolled out a major overhaul of its Copilot workplace assistant. The update adds new features including Home, Code and Autopilot, aiming to strengthen AI capabilities amid competition. Microsoft is also focusing on enterprise customers to help optimize management of AI spending.

Whirlpool of India said it is not involved in any promoter stake-sale plan, while also stating that Whirlpool Mauritius is seeking multiple buyers for its remaining holding. The clarification was followed by a single-day share price gain of more than 12%. Over the past three days, the stock has risen 33%.

The Russia-Ukraine war has disrupted Black Sea wheat exports, forcing major buyers including Egypt, Indonesia and Vietnam to seek alternative supplies from Australia, Argentina and France. Russia and Ukraine together account for more than a quarter of global wheat trade, and their September export volumes are expected to drop sharply from a year earlier. Tighter supply has lifted Chicago wheat futures to a three-and-a-half-year high, with prices from alternative origins also rising. The shift is adding to global food inflation risks.

GE Vernova T&D India’s Barmer HVDC project has sharply increased its order backlog to nearly five times the revenue expected by FY26, but management expects limited near-term conversion. The company said the project will take about 4.5 years, with only 10–15% of the work completed in the first two years. As of Q1FY27, backlog stood at ₹20,930 crore and quarterly revenue rose 38% year-on-year to ₹1,840 crore. PL Capital projects FY27 revenue of ₹8,239 crore, while management guides FY27 EBITDA margins at around 25%, below FY26’s 27.1%, and does not expect another large export order over the next six months.

Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the United States eases military pressure, Reuters reported. After the report, Brent crude fell more than 2% to trade near $98 a barrel. The strait carries about 20 million barrels of oil per day and around one-fifth of global LNG trade. A reopening would ease supply concerns, reduce inflation pressure, weigh on oil prices and support gold.

Gold edged higher, with spot bullion up 0.4% to $4,361.89 an ounce. Oil has fallen more than 9% over the past four trading days, easing expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates further to curb inflation. Silver also gained 0.8% to $66.56 an ounce. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after rising 0.1% in the previous session.

Anthropic is considering releasing a new AI model as it tries to close the gap with OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Since Astra launched this month, business adoption has risen, with Ramp data showing it accounts for about 13% of enterprise AI spending versus roughly 8% for Anthropic’s Claude Fable. Anthropic’s annualized revenue run rate exceeded $65 billion by the end of July and it forecasts roughly $190 billion to $200 billion in revenue in 2028.

Indian equities are expected to open flat on Sept. 16 after benchmarks fell in the prior session. The Sensex slid 777.94 points to 74,003.82 and the Nifty 50 dropped 279.50 points to 23,118.60. Rising Middle East tensions kept WTI crude in the $104–105 range, while the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level in nearly two decades, weighing on global risk sentiment amid inflation concerns.