Business

Asian drug stocks faced a downturn. This followed US President Trump’s tariff threat on imported pharmaceuticals. South Korean and Japanese drugmakers experienced declines. Samsung Biologics and Sumitomo Pharma saw significant drops. Celltrion bucked the trend with a slight gain. Experts suggest limited broader economic impact. The US government’s tariff rate is expected to rise.

Gold price prediction today: Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities suggests a sell-on-rise strategy for gold, citing technical indicators signaling weakness. Gold futures face selling pressure amid cautious global markets and US economic data anticipation.

Pharmaceutical stocks, particularly Indian firms, plummeted following President Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on imported branded medicines to the US. Companies like Sun Pharma, Biocon, and Zydus Lifesciences experienced significant declines.

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, opened in red on Friday on the back of weak global cues. While Nifty50 was just above 24,800, BSE Sensex was down almost 200 points.

A recent study indicates India’s logistics cost stands at 8% of GDP, disproportionately affecting smaller firms, where it can reach 16% of output. Larger companies, however, experience a lower cost of 7.6%. The transport equipment sector faces the highest logistics burden at 21.4% of total output, while coastal shipping offers the lowest per-tonne-km cost.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged banks with strong balance sheets to increase lending for public infrastructure, industry, and MSMEs, emphasizing their crucial role amid global uncertainty. She highlighted India’s resilience due to strong economic fundamentals and urged public sector banks to maintain professional management and customer-centric approaches. The government is emphasizing increased capital for MSMEs…

RBI’s Authentication Directions, 2025, signals the phasing out of OTP-only second-factor authentication for payments, prioritizing enhanced security and user choice. The new framework encourages biometrics, app-based tokens, and device-native methods, shifting liability to issuers. Banks and payment providers must adopt alternative 2FAs by April 2026 for domestic transactions and October 2026 for cross-border payments.

Silver prices in India soared to a record high, surpassing Rs 1.40 lakh/kg, driven by international prices exceeding $45/ounce and a weaker rupee. This surge in the white metal contrasts with a slight softening of gold prices domestically, influenced by global trends. Market analysts attribute the precious metals rally to dovish US rate-cut outlook, geopolitical…