RBI wants no drama š¦
Fibre optics are thriving, Drama in space, and New entrant in the data centre game.
šļø Morning, folks! āļø
Todayās random internet musing led us to a delightfully bizarre fact.
Japan is looking for a ābackup capitalā. Since Tokyo sits in one of the worldās most earthquake-prone regions, the government wants another city ready to take over if a major disaster ever brings the capital to a halt.
Now, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Nagoya and Hiroshima are all campaigning for the role, hoping it also brings jobs, investment and long-term growth.
Guess you and I arenāt the only ones being treated like an option.
Back to the mainland.
A largely positive Wednesday on Dalal Street. Sensex and Nifty ended higher.
The markets recovered in the final minutes of trading as investors continued adjusting to the new Closing Auction Session (CAS) mechanism introduced for F&O stocks. The new system also lifted both benchmark indices from their 3:15 pm levels during the closing process.
Among sectors, auto and metal stocks led the gains. Metal stocks advanced after a weaker US dollar boosted commodity prices.
The Indian rupee closed stronger on Wednesday, ending at 95.12 against the US dollar, supported by easing crude oil prices and hopes of progress in US-Iran talks.
š” Spotlight: A US move on China gave Indian stocks a boost š”
Sterlite Technologies hit the 5% upper circuit on Wednesday, while HFCL gained more than 4%, extending its rally for the fifth straight session.
The trigger came after reports suggested that the Trump administration is preparing to restrict imports of certain Chinese-made components used inside AI data centers.
The India angle: if Chinese suppliers face restrictions in the US, global customers will need to source these products from elsewhere.
Thatās where Indian companies like Sterlite Technologies and HFCL come in. Both manufacture optical fibre cables and telecom networking equipment used by telecom operators, data centres and governments around the world.
Letās hit it! šŖš»
1 Big Thing: Everything RBI Governor said about inflation, GDP and interest rates š¦
The RBIās Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), led by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, has kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% for the fourth straight meeting and retained a neutral stance, meaning it is not signalling either a rate hike or cut for now.
First, what is the repo rate: it is the interest rate at which the RBI lends money to banks. If it rises, loans such as home, car and business loans can become costlier.
The key forecasts: RBI raised its FY27 GDP growth estimate to 6.7% from 6.6%, with the biggest upgrade coming for Q1, now seen at 7%. On inflation, it reduced its FY27 CPI forecast to 5% from 5.1% earlier and lowered its core inflation estimate to 4.3% from 4.7%.
But thereās a catch: Governor Malhotra warned that headline inflation is likely to rise in the coming months due to higher food and fuel prices, before peaking in Q3 and easing later.
The RBI said these price pressures are not broad-based but warned that El NiƱo-related weather risks could affect crop output and keep food inflation elevated.
June retail inflation had already hit an 18-month high, mainly due to rising food and fuel prices.
We also broke down this story in video format, check it out here.
Now that's one figure you'll know before everyone starts pretending they always did.
2. SpaceXās Q2 flies high š
Elon Muskās SpaceX reported its first-ever quarterly results as a publicly listed company. While revenue nearly doubled, spending surged even faster.
The numbers:
Revenue: jumped 92% YoY to $7.8 billion.
Spending: soared more than 550% YoY to $18.3 billion, contributing to a net loss of $2 billion in the first six months of the year.
Whatās driving the business: most of SpaceXās revenue last year, and its only profitable business, came from its Connectivity segment, led by the Starlink satellite internet service.
Segment-wise revenue (Q2):
Space: $962 million (vs. $835 million expected)
Connectivity: $4.29 billion (vs. $3.83 billion expected)
AI: $2.56 billion (vs. $2.18 billion expected)
As if the earnings report wasnāt enough, SpaceX also made news... on the Moon.
A four-tonne piece of a discarded SpaceX rocket crashed into the Moon after drifting through space for more than a year. The high-speed impact posed no risk to Earth but is expected to have created a new crater on the lunar surface.
The debris was part of a Falcon 9 rocket that launched Firefly Aerospaceās lunar lander to the Moon in January 2025.
3. Why Indiaās population story is changing š¤
India's biggest advantage, its young population, is beginning to change.
With fertility rates now below replacement levels, India is ageing faster than ever. That means a shrinking workforce, rising eldercare needs, changing consumer demand and new pressures on cities and public finances.
To avoid growing old before growing rich, India must shift from a population-driven growth model to a productivity-driven one powered by tech, skilling, smarter cities, advanced manufacturing, the silver economy and innovation.
4. Why is Hiranandani betting big on Data Centers?
Yotta is investing over $2 billion to build one of Asiaās largest AI computing platforms.
But hereās the surprising part. The company is backed by the Hiranandani Group, a name most people associate with real estate.
As AI demand explodes, data centers are evolving from digital warehouses into the backbone of the AI economy. And that could make companies building this infrastructure some of the biggest beneficiaries of Indiaās AI boom.
5. Stocks that kept us interested š
What went up ā¬ļø
š PNB Housing Finance reported a 4.5% YoY rise in Q1 net profit, driven by strong home loan demand, sending its shares up nearly 4%.
šļø ICICI Lombard ended in the green, while Go Digit surged 6% and New India Assurance climbed 7% after the Supreme Court extended mandatory third-party motor insurance coverage for vehicles.
š Deepak Nitrite gained after Q1 profit jumped 209% YoY, while revenue increased 36% year-on-year.
š¼ Ola Electric zoomed 7% after it partnered with Axis Energy to build up to 20 GWh of battery storage capacity by 2032.
ā Snowman Logistics jumped 2%, Godrej Properties gained over 3%, and Rolex Rings climbed more than 3% after strong Q1 results and a positive FY27 outlook.
What went down ā¬ļø
š Protean eGov fell 8% after Q1 profit declined as higher upfront investments and rising costs weighed on margins.
š» MapMyIndia fell 8% despite reporting strong Q1 results, with net profit rising 8% and revenue growing 15% YoY.
What else are we snackinā šæ
šµ Polymer notes: RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said ā¹10 and ā¹20 polymer notes are targeted to enter circulation at the start of the next financial year and will circulate alongside existing paper notes.
š¢ Services slowdown: Indiaās services PMI fell to a four-year low in July as weaker demand and delayed orders weighed on business activity, despite resilient exports and hiring.
āļø AI infrastructure: Anthropic signed a $10 billion computing deal with a cloud startup to expand AI infrastructure and secure long-term computing capacity for its models.
š«” Platform error: Meta's Chief Global Officer Joel Kaplan apologised after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook video was mistakenly removed for five hours.
Thatās a wrap! Donāt let the weekday blues get to you.
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Disclaimer: this newsletter is for informational and research purposes only. Nothing here should be considered financial, investment, legal, or professional advice.
Hey, I have been reading quite a time now and wanted to say that I love your creativity and the way you put everything in order
SpaceX seems to be spending generously, investors should be worried. Well written story