Geopolitics and trade talks dominated headlines on September 15, setting the tone for global markets.
In the U.S., President Donald Trump is expected to grant another extension for China’s Bytedance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets, marking the fourth delay in a case that has raised tech sovereignty concerns. (Impact: Tech/IT exporters like Infosys, TCS, HCLTech, TechM – sentiment linked to U.S.-China tech tussle)
Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Beijing deepened as China’s Commerce Ministry launched probes into U.S. chip trade policy and dumping practices—just ahead of fresh bilateral talks in Spain. (Impact: Semiconductor & chip-related plays – Tata Elxsi, Dixon Tech, SPEL Semi, ASM Tech, and Reliance Jio’s chip ambitions)
On the diplomatic front, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi firmly opposed Washington’s push at the G7 for tariffs on Russian oil buyers, arguing that sanctions only complicate conflicts rather than resolve them. (Impact: OMCs & refiners like IOC, BPCL, HPCL, Reliance Industries – as crude trade flows could shift)
Back home, India reported headline inflation at 2.07% in August, broadly in line with expectations, driven by seasonal food price upticks while core inflation stayed steady at 4.1%. (Impact: FMCG majors like HUL, Nestle, Britannia; Food staples like ITC, DMart – sensitive to food inflation trends)
In a potential trade thaw, U.S. officials signaled limited interest in India’s sensitive dairy sector, focusing instead on niche premium cheese exports. (Impact: Dairy & food players – Hatsun Agro, Heritage Foods, Parag Milk, Dodla Dairy)
Policy clarity also emerged on taxation: the CBIC ruled that buyers won’t need to reverse input tax credit when suppliers issue post-sale credit notes, providing relief to businesses. (Impact: Positive for corporate-heavy sectors – Auto (Maruti, M&M), Consumer Durables (Voltas, Havells), Cement (UltraTech, Shree Cement))
Separately, the government is considering tax exemptions of up to 20 years for data centre developers under the draft National Data Centre Policy. (Impact: Data centre beneficiaries – Adani Enterprises, Reliance Industries, Hiranandani group-linked NxtGen; IT infra players like L&T, STL Tech)
India’s smartphone export story continues to shine, surging 55% in the first five months of FY26, led by Apple’s contract partners Tata Electronics and Foxconn. Exports have already crossed last year’s full-year tally, underscoring India’s growing strength in electronics manufacturing. (Impact: Dixon Tech, Tata group, Foxconn India-linked suppliers, Optiemus, Syrma SGS, Kaynes Tech)
On the global trade front, India-EU negotiations are moving into a decisive phase, with hopes of sealing a free trade pact by year-end. (Impact: Pharma (Sun, Cipla, Dr. Reddy’s), Auto (Tata Motors, M&M), Textiles (Arvind, KPR Mill), Specialty Chemicals (SRF, Aarti) – export-heavy sectors stand to gain)
Markets across Asia-Pacific opened mixed ahead of China’s activity data and a busy week of central bank meetings, with Japanese markets shut for a holiday.