Jarvis Invest rounds up today’s stock market news, led by Brent crude falling below $90 a barrel, China’s merchandise trade surplus crossing $1 trillion, and a ₹6,414 crore capital infusion into IIFL Finance. The day’s other developments include a shift in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund’s equity exposure, a closer look at the RBI’s dollar forwards, and updates across consumer goods, passenger vehicles and defence.
Stock market news: Brent crude falls below $90 as Trump signals restraint on Iran
Brent Crude fell below $90 mark to $89.30/bbl on Tuesday. Equity and derivative markets were shut on Tuesday. Just a week back, prices were as high as $117/bbl, and has fallen almost 25% from that level. The trigger for the fall came from Trump’s Iran pivot, wherein he underlined that he was not looking at intensifying the war with Iran. That came as a relief for the oil markets, as it would eventually pave the way for oil to move freely through the Straits of Hormuz. Clearly, it looks like the loss in the mid-term elections has put Trump and the Republicans on the back foot.
Stock market news: China’s trade surplus reaches $1.04 trillion as AI-related exports rise
As India struggles with a mounting trade deficit, China has recorded a merchandise trade surplus of $1.04 trillion in the first 10 months of calendar 2026. Trade surplus surged 35% yoy in October 2026 to $105 billion. China has seen a surge in export demand for AI-related tools like computer chips, data centre servers, and networking equipment. This data comes just ahead of Xi meeting Trump in China next week. China now looks set to better last year’s merchandise trade surplus of $1.2 trillion. China is look at exports driving its GDP growth target of 4.5%-5.0%.
Stock market news: Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund exits Meta and raises Indian equity exposure
India’s largest flexi-cap fund by AUM, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, has been cutting its exposure to global AI-dependent stocks. On the buy side, the fund bought Netflix and in India it bought into DLF, as well as select auto and oil & gas stocks. The fund currently has a corpus of ₹1.47 trillion and its global equity exposure fell from 11.9% in September to 10.1% in October 2026. India equity allocation increased 319 bps to 75.25%. While the fund fully exited Meta, it cut exposure to MSFT, Alphabet, and Amazon. It also bought Maruti, M&M, Petronet, IGL, and MGL.
Stock market news: RBI’s $239 billion forward book keeps rupee traders cautious
Rupee may have shown some strength, but currency markets are still cautious. The reason is the $239-billion-dollar forward positions that RBI is holding. That is the reason, even the FPI infusion of $6.4 billion in 6 days has not helped the rupee in November. Out of the total dollar forwards; about $40 billion mature in 1 year, $56 billion in 1-3 years, and $143 billion in 3-5 years. The last part is meant to hedge the repayment risk of FCNR(B) deposits. This large dollar forwards position means the RBI will have to buy equivalent dollars, which will put pressure on the Rupee.
Stock market news: Blackstone to invest ₹5,000 crore in IIFL Finance
Blackstone of the US and the promoters of IIFL will infuse ₹6,414 crore into IIFL Finance. Blackstone will invest ₹5,000 crore for a 16% stake in IIFL Finance on a fully-diluted basis. This infusion will boost its capital buffers, reduce its cost of funds, and help expand the lucrative gold-loan business. Blackstone will be allotted compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) to be converted into equity shares at ₹602 per share within 18 months of allotment. The promoters, Nirmal Jain and R Venkataraman, will infuse ₹1,264 crore, with Anchorage Capital putting in ₹150 crore.
Hindustan Unilever raises prices by up to 11% as input costs rise
The cost pressures on FMCG companies has been visible for some time now, and that has manifested in Hindustan Unilever raising prices by up to 11%. The price hike has been across home care product brands like Surf, Rin, Excel, and Wheel. These price hikes span multiple pack sizes. Outside of home care products, HUL also increased the price of Moti Gulab soap. It has been a tough call for FMCG companies as rural demand has been under pressure. However, the spike in input costs has left FMCG players with little choice other than calibrated price hikes.
Smaller towns account for about 55% of passenger vehicle registrations
An interesting auto trend in 2026 is that smaller towns are driving nearly 55% of the car sales in the first 10 months. These are actual registrations based on e-Vahan data. In the Jan-Oct period, the non-urban metros added 3,89,401 vehicles; which is more than the combination of rural sales at 1,61,965 units and metro sales at 1,55,698 units. Overall passenger vehicle (PV) registrations in the Jan-Oct period grew by 18.4% yoy. This is despite the fact that non-metro urban markets saw a double-digit fall, while rural and metro markets saw only a single-digit fall in sales.
Morgan Stanley flags production bottlenecks in India’s defence industry
According to a note by Morgan Stanley, Indian defence industry faces a major execution roadblock. This could impact the self-reliance drive in defence. Modern warfare, as we got to see in Iran recently, consumes shells, interceptors, drones, and spare parts much faster than the ability of the defence industry to supply. In the Indian context, the problem becomes more acute due to bureaucratic red tape, technology gaps, and the lack of a defence supply chain. Global military spending touched $2.9 trillion in 2025, with Europe and Canada hiking allocations.
Conclusion
Jarvis Invest’s stock market news roundup closes with three developments to watch: whether easing tensions around Iran keep Brent below $90, how dollar demand affects the rupee despite foreign portfolio inflows, and how quickly IIFL Finance deploys its new capital. HUL’s price increases and the share of vehicle registrations coming from smaller towns also offer two distinct signals on domestic demand.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Investors should conduct their own research or consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser before making investment decisions.
