India's domestic gold prices rose 12% in August to ₹1,58,854 per 10 grams, tracking a 13% jump in the global benchmark to US$4,386 an ounce. Total gold ETF assets in the country climbed to about ₹1.91 lakh crore, backed by 121.3 tonnes of the metal, with year-to-date net inflows of US$4.22 billion. Average daily turnover in MCX gold futures rose 38% month on month to roughly ₹29,500 crore. Physical gold imports fell to US$2.3 billion in August, down 58% from a year earlier.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported a 68.7 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to USD 23.86 billion (NT$763.06 billion) in the third quarter of 2026, while revenue rose 50.9 per cent to USD 46.72 billion (NT$1,494.24 billion).

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company’s IPO plans are likely to be delayed until after 2026. He also backed a proposal from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to slow frontier AI development while expanding safety evaluations and international coordination. Altman said the industry still has significant work to do to address safety concerns and fears of losing control of advanced AI systems.

India’s benchmark equity indices opened sharply lower on Friday, with the Nifty 50 down 0.88% and the Sensex off 0.79%, as escalating West Asia tensions and a jump in crude prices stoked concerns over higher energy import costs. Brent crude was trading around USD 108.27 per barrel. Analysts said persistently high oil prices could materially weigh on India’s GDP growth and corporate earnings.

Global coal demand is expected to rise 1.2% in 2026 to a record 8.94 billion tonnes as elevated natural gas prices, geopolitical disruptions and weather factors support coal-fired power generation, according to the International Energy Agency. India’s coal consumption is projected to increase 4.2% to 1,353 million tonnes. If Middle East tensions ease, LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz return toward pre-conflict levels and gas prices fall, global coal demand is forecast to slip 0.4% in 2027 to 8.91 billion tonnes. India’s domestic coal production is expected to reach 1,095 million tonnes as it seeks to strengthen local supply and reduce import dependence.

The FAO Sugar Price Index jumped 11.9% in August from the previous month, driven by weaker output prospects in Europe due to adverse weather and El Niño-related concerns in key Asian producers. India’s announcement of duty-free imports of raw sugar also contributed to the rise. Over the same period, FAO indexes for cereals, dairy, vegetable oils and meat also increased, according to the UN agency.

Samsung Electronics raised its global high-bandwidth memory (HBM) revenue share to 33% in the second quarter, narrowing its gap with leader SK hynix to 17 percentage points. The company expects sixth-generation HBM4 to help it close the distance further. On its earnings call, Samsung said its HBM market share in the second half could approach its overall DRAM market share.

Samsung Electronics reported second-quarter revenue of 171.5 trillion won and operating profit of 89.5 trillion won as demand for AI memory chips surged. Operating cash flow exceeded 145 trillion won in the first half, while net cash rose to 167.59 trillion won, nearly doubling from a year earlier. On a July 30 earnings call, CFO Park Sooncheol said the board and management are discussing a new shareholder-return programme, including a possible special dividend, according to the Korea Herald.

Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics has launched an initial public offering to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s SciTech Innovation Board. The deal includes about 40.45 million shares priced at 150.80 yuan each, aiming to raise roughly 6.10 billion yuan (USD 904 million). The shares represent 10% of the company’s post-offering share capital. Subscriptions are now open.