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, MON., OCT. 5, 2026No. 1 · 6:00 p.m. IST6 p.m. IST
Nifty 5022,555.75▲0.60%10/5USD/INR96.30▲0.05%10/5S&P 5007,722.72▲0.73%10/2WTI$91.11－10/2Gold$4,162.30▼1.00%10/2
Economy · MarketsSource ✓ exchange closing data as reported · Press ✓ 5 outlets

Sensex jumps 473 points and Nifty ends at 22,556, snapping a losing run. The RBI decides on Wednesday

Softer crude and a weak US jobs report eased fears of faster Fed hikes. ITC rose nearly 5 per cent on a Citi upgrade. The rupee barely moved, and foreign investors kept selling.

Indian equities bounced on Monday after four straight sessions of losses. The BSE Sensex gained 472.77 points, or 0.66 per cent, to close at 72,382.47, against 71,909.70 on the previous close. The NSE Nifty 50 rose 133.80 points, or 0.60 per cent, to end at 22,555.75. Over the four losing sessions the Sensex had slipped about 2.7 per cent and the Nifty about 3.1 per cent, according to one market wrap. Outlets cited easing crude prices, buying across sectors and a weaker US jobs report that reduced bets on a faster pace of rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. One outlet described the losing run as eight days long; most counted four sessions, and we have used four.

ITC was the standout. The stock rose nearly 5 per cent after Citi moved it to Buy from Sell and lifted its target price to Rs 300, arguing that the cycle of earnings downgrades after the steep cigarette tax increase is largely over. Outlets differ on the earlier target (Rs 270 or Rs 280). The rupee ended almost flat at 96.30 to the dollar, five paise weaker by PTI's provisional count, with the Reserve Bank of India believed to be smoothing moves. Selling by foreign portfolio investors continued, and falling forex reserves show the RBI's cost of defending the rupee. All eyes now turn to the Monetary Policy Committee, which announces its decision at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. In a Reuters poll of 61 economists taken in late September, 35 expected a 25-basis-point increase in the repo rate to 5.50 per cent, which would be the first rise since February 2023.

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By the numbers
72,382.47Sensex close, up 472.77 points; Nifty 22,555.75 (exchange data as reported)
96.30Rupee per dollar, flat; PTI provisional, Reuters 96.29
35 of 61Economists in a Reuters poll expecting a 25-basis-point repo hike on Wednesday
Politics · LawPress ✓ 4 outlets · the court's order is not yet read directly

Supreme Court takes up a plea asking whether CEC Gyanesh Kumar can act alone. Congress keeps up its street protests

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant was listed to hear on Monday a petition that asks a narrow but weighty question: can the Chief Election Commissioner exercise on his own powers that the Constitution gives to the Election Commission as a body? The petition leans on Article 324 and on the 2023 law that says decisions should be unanimous where possible and otherwise by majority. It cites a report in The Indian Express that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections at least 14 times in ten months on decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. It seeks a writ of quo warranto, which asks an officeholder to show the authority for what he is doing.

One report says the court refused to suspend Mr Kumar without hearing the other side and asked the Centre, the Commission and the CEC to respond; we could not confirm that from a second outlet or from the order itself. The Commission rejects the idea that the objections amount to institutional dissent. Outside court, Congress held protests in several states over the past fortnight, including outside Mr Kumar's house in Agra, where slogans were painted on the gate, and the BJP has accused it of misleading the public.

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Word of the day
Quo warrantoLaw

A court writ that asks a person holding a public office, "By what authority?" If he cannot show a legal basis, the court can remove him. The petition against the CEC asks for exactly this.

ScienceSource ✓ Nobel Assembly announcement · Press ✓ 6 outlets

Medicine Nobel goes to the three scientists who made brain cells respond to light

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was announced on Monday in Stockholm by Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Assembly. It goes in equal thirds to Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University, Berlin, and Georg Nagel of the University of Würzburg, "for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics". It is the first prize of this year's season.

Hegemann and Nagel found channelrhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein in a single-celled green alga that opens a channel in the cell membrane when blue light falls on it. Deisseroth later showed that the protein could be placed in the nerve cells of living mice, so that a pulse of light switches chosen neurons on or off. The method is now used in labs worldwide to trace circuits for movement, fear, sleep and addiction. Deisseroth lectured in Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi in 2016. Physics follows on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday, literature on Thursday, peace on Friday and economics on 12 October.

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India · WorldPress ✓ 5 outlets · no statement from the Ministry of External Affairs found yet

Indians in the line of fire: five rescued from a tanker hit in Hormuz, and an Indian-run drug plant in Ukraine destroyed

The Indian embassy in Oman said it coordinated the rescue of five Indian nationals from the Kuwait-flagged tanker MT Kazimah III, hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz around 2 to 3 October. All five were taken ashore safely. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported a small fire and a blackout aboard, and no casualties. The embassy did not say who fired. Indian officials say more than 4,500 Indian seafarers serve on commercial ships in the region; one Indian died on 23 September when the MV Cape Dao was attacked near the strait.

Separately, a Russian drone strike on the weekend largely destroyed the Sumy plant of the Kusum Group, which began as an exporter of Indian medicines to Ukraine and is run by Indian national Rajeev Gupta. One person was killed and several injured; preliminary reports put the loss at Rs 400 crore. It came after a night in which Russia launched 135 attack drones. Kusum's Kyiv warehouse was destroyed in April 2025; Russia's embassy in Delhi denied attacking it. Outlets differ on whether the new strike was on Saturday or Sunday.

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SportsPress ✓ 5 outlets

India finish fourth at the Asian Games with 85 medals, 21 of them gold, and book a hockey ticket to Los Angeles

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games closed on Sunday at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, with the torch handed to Doha for 2030. India ended fourth, as at Hangzhou, with 85 medals: 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze. That is well below the record 106 of 2022. China topped the table with 169 golds among 341 medals, ahead of Japan and Korea. The shooter Neeru Dhanda, who won two golds and a silver, including the first trap gold by an Indian woman at the Games, carried the flag at the closing.

Hockey supplied the best news. The men beat Malaysia 5–1 in the final to retain the title and qualify directly for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The women beat China 1–0 for their first Asian Games gold since 1982. The women's cricket team opened India's gold account by beating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final. Organisers were criticised for shuttle buses that failed to turn up or went to wrong venues, though the OCA praised the frugal arrangements.

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In brief
  • China's 169 golds are its best haul at an Asian Games held abroad; the OCA praised the 'frugal' organisationKhaleej Times · Deccan Chronicle · The Star
  • The dollar index sits near a 17-month high, about 101.97, on euro weakness and safe-haven buyingReuters via Global Banking & Finance · Poder360
  • Indian officials say 4,500-plus seafarers are on ships near the Gulf; the Cape Dao attack on 23 September killed one IndianGulf News · Tribune
  • Kusum's Kyiv warehouse was hit in April 2025 (loss about $24 million); Russia's embassy denied it thenDeccan Chronicle · The Statesman
  • Nobel week: Physics on Tuesday, Chemistry on Wednesday, Literature on Thursday, Peace on FridayNobel Foundation · Euronews
  • The women's cricket final, won by 147 runs against Sri Lanka, gave India its first gold of these GamesDeccan Chronicle · Free Press Journal
Seven minutes every evening, one front page — see About

Unverified — what we could not confirm

"Kerala has ordered an anti-corruption inquiry into the CEC." Appears in a single news digest. We found no second outlet and no official order.
"The market's losing streak was eight days long." One outlet says so. Business Standard and others count four sessions, and the 'eight' seems to be weeks.
"Spain's prime minister has called snap elections." Reported by AFP after parliament rejected a housing bill. Not yet confirmed by a second outlet when we closed.
Glossary · dotted words — economics, law, security and science terms explained in the context of the story. The list grows every day.
INSIDESensex jumps 473 points and Nifty ends at 22,556, snapping a losing run. The RBI decides on WednesdayEconomy · MarketsSupreme Court takes up a plea asking whether CEC Gyanesh Kumar can act alone. Congress keeps up its street protestsPolitics · LawMedicine Nobel goes to the three scientists who made brain cells respond to lightScienceIndians in the line of fire: five rescued from a tanker hit in Hormuz, and an Indian-run drug plant in Ukraine destroyedIndia · WorldIndia finish fourth at the Asian Games with 85 medals, 21 of them gold, and book a hockey ticket to Los AngelesSports