Jio Platforms opens about 21% above its sale price in early trading on Wednesday, becoming India's second most valuable company, while its owner Reliance slips 2%

The rest of the day

34 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Oil climbs back above $115

   Brent oil, the main world price, rose 1.5% to $115.60 a barrel early on Wednesday, after two days of falls. [11] Traders bought again after Yemen's Houthis said they had hit a big Saudi refinery, which Saudi Arabia has not confirmed. [22] A count by the American Petroleum Institute, an oil industry group, showed US crude stocks fell by 2.03 million barrels last week, when a rise had been expected. [11] Brent is up 13% in October and 80% in a year. [23]

   Why it matters — On Tuesday Brent cost about $13.75 more than WTI, the price of oil inside the US, because supply at sea is tighter than inside the US. [23] The OPEC+ group of oil producers is expected to keep its December output targets unchanged on Sunday. [22]

2. 03

   SK Hynix's record profit lifts Korea

   SK Hynix, the world's second-biggest maker of memory chips, said its operating profit rose 632% from a year earlier, to 83.3 trillion won, about $62 billion. [24] Its sales rose 327.9%. [13] It makes high-bandwidth memory, a fast kind of memory that sits beside AI chips. [13] It raised this year's dividends and buybacks to about 100 trillion won, or $75 billion, counting buybacks announced earlier. [24] Its shares jumped more than 8%. [13]

   Revenue328%

   Operating profit632%

   Why it matters — South Korea's main share index was up as much as 6.57% during Wednesday, after a month of heavy falls. [14] Hynix says 14 big customers have signed long deals covering more than half of what it can make in 2027 and 2028. [24]

3. 04

   New Zealand's central bank holds its rate

   The Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its main rate at 2.75% on Wednesday, in a 4 to 3 vote. [19] Twenty-two of 27 economists polled by Reuters had expected a rise. [19] The bank had raised its rate at its last two meetings, because prices are rising faster than its 1% to 3% target. [12] It said further rises are likely later. [12] Prices rose 3.7% in the year to September. [12]

   Why it matters — The New Zealand dollar fell as much as 1.7% against the US dollar. [20] A general election is due in 10 days. [19]

4. 05

   China's state funds buy, and shares still slide

   China's 'national team', a group of state-owned funds, has put billions of dollars into shares to stop a weeks-long fall. [25] The CSI 300, an index of China's biggest companies, has fallen 20% from its June high, and the STAR 50 index of tech shares about 40%. [26] Morgan Stanley, a US bank, said Chinese shares could fall another 10% to 15% before they stop. [26] About $2.4 trillion has been wiped off Chinese shares since May. [15]

   Why it matters — AI companies make up more than 40% of the value of the stock markets in China and Hong Kong, so their fall drags the rest. [15] Morgan Stanley based its estimate on how far Chinese shares fell at past low points since 2008. [26]

5. 06

   Shanghai shares sell for a third more than Hong Kong's

   Many Chinese companies have the same shares listed in both mainland China and Hong Kong. [27] The mainland copies now sell for 33% more on average, the widest gap in almost 17 months. [27] China's limits on moving money across its border have long kept mainland prices higher. [27] State buying is now holding up the mainland side, while mainland investors have sold about HK$20 billion of Hong Kong shares this month. [27]

   Why it matters — The two copies cannot be swapped, so traders bet on the gap instead, for example by buying the Shenzhen shares of CATL, the battery maker. [27] Mainland savers pay more for the same company than buyers in Hong Kong.

6. 07

   Boeing has its worst day since 2020

   Boeing, the US maker of passenger jets, lost 11% on Tuesday, its biggest one-day fall since June 2020. [28] It said it needs more time to keep 737 Max deliveries steady at 47 planes a month. [17] That means it will miss its target of 500 737 Max deliveries this year, and it gave no new target. [17] Its jet-making unit lost $697 million in the quarter. [29] The whole company lost $116 million, far less than a year earlier. [30]

   Why it matters — It still delivered 363 737 Max planes in the first nine months of 2026, its fastest pace ever. [29] Plane makers are paid most of a jet's price when they hand it over, so slower deliveries mean less cash coming in.

7. 08

   Britain pays the most for five-year debt since 2008

   Britain sold 4.5 billion pounds of five-year government bonds on Tuesday at an average interest rate of 5.036%, the highest since 2008. [21] Buyers offered to lend 3.51 times the amount on sale. [31] John Healey, the UK finance minister, gives his first Budget on Wednesday. [21] Higher borrowing costs have cut his room under the UK government's own borrowing rules to as little as 10 billion pounds, from 24 billion a year ago. [32]

   Why it matters — Every rise in the rate adds to the interest paid on new UK debt by taxpayers. [21] The Resolution Foundation, a research group, puts the remaining room at about 12 billion pounds. [33]

8. 09

   More UK businesses in serious trouble

   There were 738,144 UK businesses in 'significant' financial distress in the third quarter, up 1.6% on a year earlier. [34] That is the highest since the count began in 2004, according to BTG, one of Britain's biggest insolvency firms. [34] Support services, building and property had the most businesses in trouble. [34] The number of bars and restaurants in distress rose 5% to 18,866. [34]

   Why it matters — BTG's boss named rising staff costs, higher energy prices and dearer borrowing. [34] Pressure is growing on Healey to offer businesses more help in Wednesday's Budget. [34]

9. 10

   Two state lenders set to get more in the Budget

   The UK's National Wealth Fund is set to get another 15.4 billion pounds over five years in Wednesday's Budget, on top of the 27.8 billion it already has, the Guardian reported before the speech. [35] The British Business Bank is set to get another 5 billion pounds. [35] Both are state-funded bodies that invest in private projects and companies, and aim to earn at least what the UK government pays to borrow. [35] UK rules let the value of their loans and stakes count against public debt. [35]

   Why it matters — Supporters say it gets projects built sooner. [35] Critics, such as the Centre for Policy Studies, say it hides how much the UK government really borrows. [35]

10. 11

    US shoppers feel better as petrol eases

    The Conference Board's index of US consumer confidence rose 7.5 points to 91.7 in October, its first rise in four months. [36][37] Economists polled by Reuters had expected 81. [38] The Conference Board, a business research group, said the rise followed petrol prices easing from September. [38] People still said they plan to spend less on services and on goods meant to last, such as cars. [36]

    Why it matters — US petrol still costs about 40% more than a year ago, because of the Iran war. [37] Shoppers' mood matters because their spending is most of the US economy.

11. 12

    Visa slips on a slower next year

    Visa, the card payments network, earned $3.48 a share in its quarter to September, a little above forecasts. [16] Its revenue rose 13% to $12.1 billion. [39] But it said revenue in its 2027 year will grow at a 'low-double-digit' rate, slower than the 15% of the year just ended. [16][39] Its shares fell 2.3% in trading after the close. [16]

    Why it matters — Visa earns a small fee on each card payment, so a slower forecast points to slower growth in card spending. It also agreed to buy BioCatch, a fraud-detection company, for $2.4 billion. [16]

12. 13

    PayPal earns more but sells less than hoped

    PayPal, the online payments company, earned $1.45 a share, above the $1.31 analysts expected. [40] Its revenue of $8.58 billion was below the $8.71 billion forecast. [40] It raised its forecast for the year to about $5.60 a share. [40] Its shares fell about 1% to 2.6% before the market opened. [41][40]

    Why it matters — Payments at checkout, its oldest business, grew only 1% to 2%, while Venmo, its phone payment app, grew faster. [40]

13. 14

    US firms say shoppers keep spending

    Coca-Cola sold 5% more drinks by volume in its quarter, and its revenue rose to $13.4 billion, above forecasts. [42] UPS, the parcel company, beat forecasts and raised its full-year outlook. [41] Royal Caribbean, the cruise company, reported more bookings, and its chief said customers were 'resilient'. [43] The Cheesecake Factory, a US restaurant chain, said sales at its restaurants rose more than 15%. [44]

    Why it matters — Diesel hit a record $6.52 a gallon in September, and many economists expected shoppers to cut back. [43] So far these firms say spending has held up.

14. 15

    Robinhood, Seagate and NXP fall after results

    Robinhood, a US share-trading app, fell about 4% to 5% after hours. [45][18] Its profit fell to $468 million, from $556 million a year earlier, and its revenue from crypto trading fell 55%. [45] Seagate, which makes computer storage drives, fell 6% even though it beat forecasts. [18] NXP, a chip maker for cars and factories, fell 9% when its forecast only matched expectations. [18]

    Why it matters — Robinhood's revenue from contracts that bet on events rose more than 500%, and did most to lift its trading income. [45]

15. 16

    Worries about AI borrowing ease

    The cost of insuring Meta's debt against default fell after it chose to raise $95 billion by selling new shares instead of borrowing. [46] Michael Novogratz, who runs Galaxy Digital, a crypto and data-centre company, said worry in lending markets is 'close to peak nervousness'. [47] Alphabet and Amazon report on Wednesday and Thursday, and Oracle holds an investor day on Wednesday. [46]

    Why it matters — Lenders have worried about how much AI building is paid for with debt. [46] These reports will show how much more the biggest builders plan to spend.

16. 17

    Bond traders bet before the US central bank

    Traders have built up bets that US government bond prices will keep rising, ahead of the US central bank's decision on Wednesday. [48] Markets price only a slim chance of a rate rise this week, but more than 90% for one in December. [48] The ten-year US rate has fallen to about 5%, from 5.36% earlier this month, its highest in more than two decades. [48]

    Why it matters — If Kevin Warsh, the US central bank's chair, sounds tougher than expected, those bets could unwind quickly, a Citigroup strategist warned. [48] A ten-year rate near 5% feeds into US mortgage rates.

17. 18

    Indians can now buy US shares on local apps

    Groww, an Indian trading app used by more than 29% of India's 46 million active investors, began offering US shares this month. [49] Before, only wealthier Indians could buy them, through global banks. [49] Zerodha, the second-largest app, is testing the same service. [49] Nvidia, SpaceX and Apple are the most popular early picks. [49]

    Why it matters — India's Nifty 50 index is down nearly 13% this year, while the US S&P 500 is up more than 12%. [49] Foreign funds have pulled a record $32.5 billion out of Indian shares since January. [49]

18. 19

    Indian company profits rise 27%

    Net profit at 356 Indian companies rose 27% in the July to September quarter, from a year earlier, a Mint analysis found. [50] That is the fastest growth in 10 quarters. [50] Part of it came from state fuel sellers, which swung from a loss to a profit of about 12,700 crore rupees after raising petrol and diesel prices. [50] Higher oil, shipping and metal prices now threaten the next quarter. [50]

    Why it matters — Much of the gain came from a weak year earlier. [50] Some firms have raised prices to protect their profits, but not all can, Mint said. [50]

19. 20

    India's biggest brewer nearly triples its profit

    United Breweries, the maker of Kingfisher beer controlled by Heineken, made a profit of 134.8 crore rupees in its quarter, up 191%. [51] Its revenue rose 24%, as it sold 16% more beer and 38% more of its dearer brands. [51] Its shares jumped 15% on Wednesday. [52] They had fallen 30% over the past year. [52]

    Why it matters — Its dearer brands grew fastest, with Heineken Silver up 67% and Kingfisher Ultra 44%. [51]

20. 21

    Labubu maker's sales halve

    Pop Mart, the Chinese toymaker behind the Labubu dolls, said its sales fell 45% to 50% in the third quarter from a year earlier. [53] Sales in the Americas fell 70% to 75%, and in mainland China 25% to 30%. [53][54] Jefferies, a US bank, cut its profit forecasts for 2027 and 2028 by 9% to 12%. [53] The shares have fallen more than 30% this year. [53]

    Why it matters — Jefferies expects fourth-quarter sales to stay 34% below a year earlier. [53] Pop Mart is still opening big shops in New York, Milan and Paris. [53]

21. 22

    Standard Chartered's profit rises 46%

    Standard Chartered, a London-based bank, said its net profit rose 46% to $1.5 billion in its quarter, from $1.03 billion a year earlier. [55] It credited loans for trade across borders and its business managing rich clients' money. [55] It is one of the three banks that print Hong Kong's banknotes. [55]

    Why it matters — The results came a day after HSBC, its bigger rival, saw its shares fall more than 5% on its own results. [31]

22. 23

    A Chinese chip-board maker barely moves on its Hong Kong debut

    Dongshan Precision, a Chinese maker of circuit boards for AI servers, began trading in Hong Kong on Wednesday. [56] It raised HK$9.9 billion, about $1.26 billion, in a sale that drew less interest than hoped. [56] Its shares fell as much as 6% after trading began, then won back part of the fall. [56]

    Why it matters — It shows how the fall in Chinese AI and tech shares is reaching new listings. [56]

23. 24

    China sentences a former market regulator

    Wang Huimin, a former senior official at China's securities regulator, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on Tuesday. [57] He was found to have taken more than 436 million yuan, about $65 million, in bribes. [57] He sat on the regulator's Communist Party committee from 2014 to 2019. [57]

    Why it matters — The case is part of China's wide anti-corruption campaign. [57] In China a death sentence with a two-year reprieve is usually turned into a life sentence.

24. 25

    US regulator signals it will block a uniform deal

    The US Federal Trade Commission, which polices competition, has told Cintas that it will sue to block its $5 billion purchase of UniFirst, people familiar with the matter said. [58] Both firms rent uniforms and supply cleaning goods to businesses. [58] The FTC has not formally voted. [58] UniFirst's shares fell 12% and Cintas's 6% after the report. [58]

    Why it matters — Many dealmakers expected the Trump administration to let most mergers through. [58] A lawsuit would show some will still be fought.

25. 26

    Builders named for an African railway to the sea

    The Africa Finance Corporation, a Lagos-based development lender, named Italy's Webuild, Portugal's Mota-Engil and Turkey's Ictas to build a new 515km railway through Zambia. [59] It is part of the Lobito Corridor, a US-backed route to carry copper and cobalt to Angola's Atlantic coast. [59] Contract talks start next month and should take eight to 12 weeks. [59] An environmental study put the cost at up to $5 billion. [59]

    Why it matters — It is the first big Western attempt to build a route for Africa's copper and cobalt that is an alternative to the ports and railways China has built. [59] Mines in Zambia would get a second way to the sea.

26. 27

    Dubai's port giant eyes Canada's Arctic port

    DP World, the Dubai ports company, is moving towards a deal to link its global network to the Port of Churchill in Manitoba, Canada, on Hudson Bay. [60] The project could cost about $57 billion and would carry Canadian gas, grain and minerals to the Middle East and Europe. [60] Abu Dhabi's crown prince arrived in Ottawa with a $50 billion investment pledge. [60]

    Why it matters — Months ago a Canadian state investment agency had told UAE officials it had nowhere to put their money, the Financial Times reported. [60]

27. 28

    US got $627 million for seized Anthropic shares

    Anthropic's share-sale papers show the US government sold 4,453,900 Anthropic shares in October 2025 for $627 million. [61] The shares had been seized from Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh, who were part of the FTX crypto fraud case. [61] The money went to the fraud's victims, the US Justice Department said. [61] At a $1.5 trillion value, the same shares would be worth about $3.94 billion. [61]

    Why it matters — It shows how fast Anthropic's value has grown since 2022, when the shares were bought for $11.23 each. [61]

28. 29

    Private equity firms turn into 'zombies'

    The number of active private equity and private markets firms peaked 18 months ago and is now falling, said Ian Charles, head of Arctos Partners. [62] More firms are becoming 'zombies', unable to raise a new fund. [62] About $3 trillion was raised for buyout funds from 2018 to 2023. [62] Of that, 57% is in funds at risk of never earning their managers a share of the profits. [62]

    Why it matters — Firms that cannot pay their managers struggle to keep investors and staff together, Charles said. [62] Strong firms are still raising plenty, in what may be the fifth or sixth best year for fundraising. [62]

29. 30

    Bitcoin stalls near $80,000

    Bitcoin was about $80,700 on Wednesday, flat on the day. [20] It rose above $87,000 in the summer but has fallen back. [63] Glassnode, a crypto data firm, says buyers from the past two years break even around $87,000, and their selling has turned it back twice this year. [63] Bitcoin has lost almost 4% in October, its worst month since June. [63]

    Why it matters — Bitcoin now moves closely with tech shares, so a fall in AI shares pulls it down too. [63]

30. 31

    Hospital chain HCA beats forecasts

    HCA Healthcare, the biggest US hospital company, earned $7.22 a share, above the $6.66 expected. [64] More patients without health insurance cut its pre-tax income by about $400 million. [64] Unexpected extra payments from Medicaid, the US health plan for people on low incomes, made up part of that, Barclays estimated. [64] Its surgeries fell. [64]

    Why it matters — People who lost cover through the US insurance exchanges are putting off planned operations, Bernstein, a research firm, said. [64]

31. 32

    US home prices and factory orders rise

    US home prices rose 2.1% in the year to August, a little faster than July's 1.9%, the Case-Shiller index showed. [65] Orders for US goods meant to last three years or more rose by $6.3 billion in September to $345.4 billion. [65]

    Why it matters — Both figures came out on the same day as the consumer survey, before the US central bank meets. [65]

32. 33

    French confidence falls to a 13-year low

    Confidence among French households fell to 80 in October, from 85 in September, its lowest since June 2013, France's statistics office Insee said. [66] The long-term average is 100. [66] It followed protests across France and a sell-off in French government bonds. [66][65]

    Why it matters — Insee asks about 2,000 households each month. [66] Worried households usually spend less, which slows the economy.

33. 34

    Australia's inflation rises to 4.3%

    Prices in Australia rose 4.3% in the year to September, a faster rate than before. [67] In the three months alone they rose 1.3%. [20] The Reserve Bank of Australia's preferred measure of underlying prices was 3.6%, above its 2.5% target. [67] Transport costs rose 8.7% in a year, mostly because of fuel. [67] The bank has raised its rate four times this year, to 4.6%, the highest in 15 years. [67]

    Why it matters — Most economists expect a fifth rise at the bank's meeting on 3 November, which would push up home-loan payments again. [67] Andrew Hauser, its deputy governor, called the numbers too high. [67]

34. 35

    A lab landlord writes down its buildings

    Alexandria Real Estate, a US landlord that rents laboratories to drug and science companies, lost $3.74 a share in its quarter. [68] Analysts had expected a loss of 4 cents. [68] The loss came from $638 million of write-downs in the value of its buildings. [68] Its revenue still rose to $671 million, above forecasts. [68] Its shares fell about 5%. [68]

    Why it matters — Its leasing was the strongest in seven quarters, so the loss came from the lower value put on its buildings, not from losing tenants. [68]