Pound zooms to two-week high against US dollar, FTSE100 spikes around 3%

Pound zooms to two-week high against US dollar, FTSE100 spikes around 3%


UK Pound spiked today as the US dollar tumbled following indications from Donald Trump of a temporary pause in hostilities with Iran. Risk appetite surged and UK stocks zoomed. The FTSE 100 index zoomed around 3% as Brent crude futures tumbled nearly 14% on the day. GBP/USD pair jumped 1.34% at 1.3433 hitting two-week top as the US dollar index slipped sharply. On NSE, GBP/INR futures are up 0.93% at 124.98. It managed to hit above 125 mark earlier in the session.
 

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First Published: Apr 08 2026 | 4:31 PM IST



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Pound zooms to two-week high against US dollar, FTSE100 spikes around 3%

Japan markets surge on ceasefire hopes


Japans stock markets rallied strongly on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 jumping 5.39% and the Topix rising 3.32%, both reaching over one-month highs. The gains were driven by improved global sentiment after the US, Iran, and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire to allow negotiations toward ending the conflict.

The ceasefire includes a pause in planned US strikes and a temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, helping ease concerns over energy supply disruptions. At the same time, Japan is pursuing diplomatic talks to support peace efforts and secure its energy needs.

Technology stocks led the rally as investor confidence returned, with strong gains in companies such as Kioxia Holdings, Advantest, Fujikura, Disco Corp, and SoftBank Group. Other sectors including power companies, banks, and automakers also saw broad-based buying.

 

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First Published: Apr 08 2026 | 3:31 PM IST



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Shriram Finance rallies 11%, leads gains among Nifty50 universe; here's why

Shriram Finance rallies 11%, leads gains among Nifty50 universe; here's why


Shares of non-banking financial company (NBFC) Shriram Finance were ruling higher on the bourse on Wednesday, emerging as the top gainer among the Nifty50 constituent stocks after the company announced updates on the allotment of equity shares through a preferential issue on a private placement basis to its investor MUFG Bank.

 

Following the update, the NBFC stock surged 11.26 per cent to log an intraday high of ₹1,035.45 per share on the NSE on Wednesday. Despite the gains, Shriram Finance shares remain 6.54 per cent below their 52-week high of ₹1,108.00 touched earlier this year on February 26, 2026.

 
 


Although the NBFC counter pared some gains, it continued to trade higher. At 2:12 PM on Wednesday, Shriram Finance shares were seen exchanging hands at ₹1,028.40 per share, up 10.50 per cent from its previous close of ₹930.65 per share on the NSE. The benchmark NSE Nifty50 was trading with gains of 848 points, or 3.67 per cent, at 23,971 levels.

 

So far during today’s trading session, a combined total of nearly 1.64 crore equity shares of Shriram Finance, estimated to be worth ₹1,633 crore, have changed hands on the NSE and BSE. 
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Allotment of equity shares to MUFG Bank


The company informed the exchanges that its Board of Directors, at its meeting held on April 8, 2026, approved the allotment of 47,11,21,055 fully paid-up equity shares of face value of ₹2 each at an issue price of ₹840.93 per equity share (including a premium of ₹838.93 per equity share), aggregating to ₹3,96,17,98,28,781.15, by way of a preferential issue on a private placement basis to MUFG Bank Ltd., in terms of the Investment Agreement dated December 19, 2025, executed between, among others, the company and MUFG Bank Ltd.

 


“The equity shares allotted to MUFG Bank Ltd. shall rank pari-passu, in all respects, with the existing equity shares of the company,” said Shriram Finance in an exchange filing.

 


The company has received in-principle approval from the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and BSE Limited (collectively, the “Stock Exchanges”) for the aforesaid preferential issuance of equity shares. “The application for listing and trading approval of the Stock Exchanges for the equity shares allotted as above will be made in due course,” said the NBFC.

 


Earlier, on March 25, 2026, the company had announced that it had been informed by the investor that the proposed transaction was approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on the same date.



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Vodafone Idea shares surge 6% on AGR reassessment update; analyst view here

Vodafone Idea shares surge 6% on AGR reassessment update; analyst view here



Vodafone Idea share price today: Shares of Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) gained more than 6 per cent in trade amid a broader rally in the market and extension in the reassessment of AGR dues by the telecom department.

 


Vodafone Idea shares opened with a gain of 4 per cent at ₹9 and made an intraday high of ₹9.24 on the National Stock Exchange (National Stock Exchange). As of 1:10 PM, the counter traded firmly in the green to quote near the day’s high, at ₹9.18.

 


The sharp rise in the price was also supported by heavy volumes. As per NSE data, a total of 460 million shares of the telecom change changed hands around the time, compared with the previous day’s total traded quantity of 480 million.  Vodafone Idea AGR  dues reassessment   Notaly, Vodafone Idea recently received government relief for its dues and liabilities. The telecom department now expects that AGR reassessment for the company to be completed by June. The reassessment was earlier targeted for completion by March 31.

 
 


According to a media reports, the review of Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC) is on, following the internal licence fee reassessment by Controller of Communication Accounts. Accordingly, the timeline has been extended to June.

 


The Union Cabinet had recently given relief to Vodafone Idea based on the Supreme Court order and ‘frozen’ its Adjusted Gross Revenue or AGR dues at ₹87,695 crore for a period ranging from FY 2006-07 to FY 2018-19. The ‘frozen’ dues are, however, subject to reassessment.

 


In another related development, Vodafone Idea had added net subscribers for the first time in February 2026 in over five years. According to TRAI data, Vi reported a net addition of 21,927 users versus a loss of 4.11 lakh subscribers in the preceding month (January).  Vodafone Idea share price target 

 


Commenting on Vodafone Idea stock, Rajesh Palviya, SVP – technical and derivatives research, Axis Securities, said that the counter Idea registered a low of ₹8.13 last week, which was the prior breakout zone. Going ahead, the immediate crucial support zone is around the ₹8 level.

 


In addition to the daily chart, he said that Vi stock has also confirmed a “Hammer,” a short-term trend reversal pattern that signals a positive bias.  The stock has recaptured its 20 and 200-day SMA, which remains a positive sign. 

 


“Traders are advised to hold, add to, and average their long positions, expecting an upside target of ₹9.80 to ₹10.50 levels,” the analyst said.

 

Vodafone Idea shares have underperformed the markets in 2026 so far, declining around 20 per cent compared to an 8.4 per cent drop in the Nifty 50. However, the stock has delivered a strong performance over the past year, gaining nearly 30 per cent, significantly outperforming the Nifty index, which has surged 6.5 per cent during the same period.    ================================ 


Disclaimer: View and outlook shared belong to the respective brokerages/analysts and are not endorsed by Business Standard. Readers’ discretion is advised.

 

 



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Pound zooms to two-week high against US dollar, FTSE100 spikes around 3%

RBI announces a review of guidelines for inclusion of Quarterly Profits in Capital to Risk-weighted Assets Ratio for Commercial Banks


Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a review of guidelines for inclusion of Quarterly Profits in Capital to Risk-weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) computation for Commercial Banks. As per the extant guidelines, commercial banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks and Local Area Banks) are permitted to include quarterly net profits in the calculation of CRAR provided that the incremental provisions made for Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) at the end of any of the four quarters of the previous financial year, have not deviated more than 25 per cent of the average of the four quarters. On a review, it is proposed to dispense with this condition. The draft amendment directions in this regard will be issued for public comments shortly.
 

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First Published: Apr 08 2026 | 12:31 PM IST



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Pound zooms to two-week high against US dollar, FTSE100 spikes around 3%

Dollar index tumbles to over two-week low on US-Iran temporary ceasefire; FOMC minutes in focus


Dollar index slumped to an over two week low on Wednesday morning in Asia after US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that improved investor sentiments and send the safe haven currency tumbling lower. US President Donald Trump said he has agreed to a proposed two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran if shipping traffic is allowed to move through the Strait of Hormuz. This comes following Trumps warning Iran that he could target important infrastructure like power plants and bridges if Tehran did not agree to his demands, which include reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The dollar index that measures the greenback against a basket of currencies is quoting down around 1% at 98.69. Basket currencies GBP/USD and EUR/USD are both seen surging around 1% amid dollar slide. Going forward in the global day, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Minutes will be in the spotlight.

 

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First Published: Apr 08 2026 | 11:16 AM IST



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