Foreign investors accelerated their selling of Indian equities in the second half of September, taking net monthly sales to Rs 35,861 crore. Financial services saw the largest outflows, with net selling of Rs 6,943 crore in September 16–30 versus Rs 6,204 crore in the first half. Capital goods also faced heavier selling, with Rs 1,353 crore sold in the second half compared with Rs 108 crore earlier in the month. The selloff added to pressure on Indian stocks amid higher oil prices and a jump in bond yields.

OpenAI told investors its September annualized revenue was almost $50 billion, down from an earlier indication that it was approaching $70 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. The change was tied in part to an effort to align revenue definitions for a direct comparison with rival Anthropic. Anthropic’s second-quarter revenue surpassed OpenAI’s for the first time, at $11.5 billion versus $6.7 billion. OpenAI began the year with $20 billion in annualized revenue, compared with $6 billion in 2024.

Gold prices ticked higher on Friday as investors weighed inflation risks and the Federal Reserve’s potential rate-hike path. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,147.77 an ounce, while U.S. December gold futures gained 0.4% to $4,172.70. St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem signaled further rate increases may be needed to bring inflation back to the 2% target. Traders see an 18% chance of a hike in October and an 81% probability of an increase in December.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday as crude oil prices surged amid escalating Middle East tensions. The S&P 500 fell 0.46% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.24%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.09%. Semiconductor shares weighed on broader markets after a report said OpenAI’s annualized revenue was $20 billion below what the company had previously signaled.

U.S. stocks fell as a renewed rise in oil prices and elevated Treasury yields revived inflation concerns. Brent crude climbed 4.2% to above $104 a barrel amid heightened worries over Middle East supply disruptions. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hovered around 5.29%, near its highest level since 2002. Amazon, Tesla and Nvidia fell 0.3% to 1.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 88.19 points.

European stocks fell on Thursday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.9% and bank shares sliding nearly 2% to a more than three-month low. Oil climbed more than 3% on continued worries about Middle East supply disruptions, lifting inflation concerns. Investors are looking for fresh policy signals from the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, wary that sticky inflation could limit the scope for rate cuts and weigh on growth.

Asian equities broadly weakened on inflation concerns, with MSCI’s Asia Pacific index down 0.3% as Japan and South Korea fell and mainland China markets reopened after a holiday. Samsung Electronics Co. swung between gains and losses after reporting record profit that still missed estimates. In commodities, Brent crude rose 1% to around $101.20 a barrel, lifted by a report on potential US strike options against Iran and storm-related US output disruptions.

India has lowered the maximum sugar inventory dealers can hold to 1,000 quintals, with the rule in effect from October 15 to November 30. The government also cut the permitted stockholding period for dealers to 15 days to keep supplies flowing during the festival period. It previously said average retail sugar prices had fallen 15% from their August peak and were expected to decline further, while ex-mill prices were down about 28% and had remained stable, the ministry said.

Paramount Skydance has completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery and will operate under the Skydance name. The combined company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD. CEO David Ellison will lead the new group across film, television, streaming and news, with a plan to cut $6 billion in costs.