Rising oil prices linked to renewed US-Iran tensions have stoked inflation concerns and pushed up expectations for a US Federal Reserve rate hike. A firmer dollar and higher US Treasury yields added to the pressure, with COMEX gold futures settling about 1.5% lower at $4,408.90 an ounce. After climbing roughly 14% in August, the market has lifted the implied probability of a September hike to around 40%.

The silver market is set to post a sixth consecutive year of physical deficit, with the 2026 shortfall projected at 46.3 million ounces, wider than in 2025. Since 2021, a cumulative 762 million ounces has been drawn from above-ground stocks. Even as photovoltaic demand declines, rising investment demand and tight physical supply are still supporting prices. COMEX registered inventories cover only 17.8% of outstanding paper silver positions, implying paper leverage of about 5.6x.

India is tightening controls on sugar stockpiling and will switch to a new quota system from September, requiring mills to sell at least 40% of their allocation in the first week and the balance in the second. With the new crushing season approaching, output is expected to exceed 10 lakh tonnes in October and reach around 45 LMT in November. Ex-mill prices have already fallen by about 20%, while retail price declines are only starting to show.

OpenAI has launched advertising on ChatGPT in India, with more than 50 brands set to go live this week. From September 4, businesses will be able to buy ads through a self-serve Ads Manager with daily budgets starting at Rs 725. India is ChatGPT’s second-largest market with more than 100 million weekly users, while global weekly users recently crossed 1 billion. The ad pilot has already topped $100 million in annualised revenue and has expanded to markets including Canada, the UK and Japan as well as 31 European countries.

UK-based Prudential plans to sell up to 98.85 lakh shares, or 2% of ICICI Prudential AMC, via the open market on Aug. 27. If fully completed, promoter and promoter group ownership will fall to 85.60% from 87.60%. ICICI Bank, the other promoter, said it will not buy shares of the asset manager from the open market on Aug. 27. The stock fell 1.90% on Wednesday to close at Rs 3,223.60.

Paytm parent One 97 Communications said shareholder Resilient Asset Management BV plans to sell up to a 4.98% stake through a block deal at a price about 3% below the market. The stake traces back to Resilient’s August 2023 purchase of a 10.20% holding from Antfin, though the economic interest remained with Antfin. Under the arrangement, One 97 said the economic value from the proposed sale will be retained by Antfin.

Cupid Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Aditya Kumar Halwasiya bought about 13.96 lakh shares on the open market, lifting his holding. The company also raised its FY27 revenue guidance to Rs 725 crore–Rs 750 crore and net profit guidance to Rs 210 crore–Rs 225 crore, citing a strong first-quarter performance in its international B2B healthcare and Consumer Healthcare & FMCG businesses. The update reflects stronger execution, improving order visibility and sustained demand across core segments, according to Halwasiya’s comments.

The London Metal Exchange’s (LME) front-month copper spread jumped to a $370-per-tonne premium on August 14, while the cash-to-three-month spread reached $434 per tonne, the highest levels since the 2021 supply squeeze. LME copper inventories have fallen for 42 consecutive days, the longest uninterrupted decline since 2014. The continued drawdown is adding to signs that the spot market is extremely tight.

State-owned defence manufacturer Bharat Dynamics reported results for Q1 of FY2025, with net profit surging nearly sixfold year-on-year to Rs 118.79 crore. Revenue rose 131% to Rs 572.24 crore, while EBITDA climbed 283% to Rs 50 crore. The stock gained 3.45% on the day, lifting the company’s market capitalisation to Rs 51,172 crore.