Titan Co has returned to investors’ radar in 2026 after nearly two years of weak stock returns, with the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-linked marquee holding adding nearly Rs 80,000 crore in market value this year. The rally has been driven by a mix of factors including steady jewellery demand, stable gold prices, market share gains by organised jewellers, strong execution at Tanishq and CaratLane, and renewed confidence that Titan can build more growth engines beyond jewellery.

The stock had spent the past two years delivering almost flat returns, even as the company remained one of India’s strongest consumer discretionary franchises. Elevated valuations, rising gold prices, weak discretionary spending and concerns over demand had kept investors cautious.

What changed in 2026

One of the biggest positives that analysts saw this year was jewellery demand stayed stronger than expected. Titan benefited from the continued shift of customers from unorganised jewellers to organised chains. This shift has helped large branded players gain share, especially in urban and semi-urban markets where trust, design range, exchange offers and store experience have become stronger selling points.

HSBC, which has a target price of Rs 5,290 on Titan, said the outlook for India’s jewellery segment remains stronger than the broader consumption market. The brokerage said the shift from unorganised to organised jewellery continues to help Titan. It added that a sharp correction in gold prices could hurt demand for a short period, but demand should recover later through higher footfalls and buyer growth.

Gold prices also played a role in Titan’s recovery. A relatively stable gold price environment helped buyers return to stores during the June quarter. High volatility in gold usually delays purchases as consumers wait for better prices. Stability helps both wedding and non-wedding demand.

Also Read: FIIs now backing India’s consumers, not capex: July data reveals major rotation
Titan’s exchange programmes have also supported growth. These programmes allow customers to exchange old jewellery for new purchases, helping the company bring more consumers into its organised retail network.

Q1 earnings support thesis

The company’s June-quarter numbers added fresh momentum to the stock rally. Titan reported a 63% growth rise in net profit to Rs 1,777 crore for Q1 over last year, while total income, excluding bullion and digi-gold sales, rose 40% to Rs 20,753 crore..

Jewellery remained the main engine. The jewellery portfolio grew 43% year-on-year to Rs 18,253 crore, excluding bullion and digi-gold sales. India jewellery revenue rose 38% to Rs 16,943 crore. Tanishq, Mia and Zoya together grew 38% to Rs 15,502 crore, while CaratLane grew 40% to Rs 1,441 crore.

Titan said the quarter was helped by festive demand, Akshaya Tritiya purchases, exchange programmes and stable gold prices. It also said buyer growth was in double digits, while average ticket sizes rose meaningfully. That combination helped plain and studded jewellery categories grow in the mid-thirties.

ICICI Securities said Titan reported healthy growth despite the full 28-day Adhik Maas period falling in the quarter, which typically affects wedding-related demand.

Titan’s international jewellery business also stood out. Revenue from the international jewellery business grew 136% to Rs 1,309 crore, helped by strong traction for Tanishq in North America and double-digit growth in the GCC. Damas, acquired earlier, reported revenue of Rs 396 crore.

Watches, eyecare take centerstage

The rally is not only about jewellery. Titan is trying to build larger businesses in watches, eyecare and emerging categories. Watches grew 21% to Rs 1,543 crore in Q1, led by premiumisation and demand for analog watches. Eyecare revenue also grew 21% to Rs 289 crore.

JM Financial said it remains positive on Titan despite near-term headwinds from elevated gold prices and regulatory changes. The brokerage said Titan is investing in growth engines beyond jewellery through eyecare, watches and emerging businesses, using premiumisation, omnichannel expansion and category development. It has a Buy rating on the stock nwith a target price of Rs 4,900.

“Titan remains one of India’s highest-quality consumer discretionary franchises, supported by category leadership, execution and multiple growth levers.”

The brokerage said it broadly agrees with management’s long-term jewellery plans, though it is more conservative on eyecare and watches until there is clearer evidence of sustained improvement.

Meanwhile, BNP Paribas recently made one of the largest earnings upgrades for Titan after the recent performance, reflecting stronger confidence in the company’s growth outlook.

For investors, the case for Titan remains linked to long-term jewellery formalisation, brand strength and execution. The risks are also clear. A sharp fall in gold prices can delay purchases. Elevated gold prices can affect affordability. Any structural fall in natural diamond prices remains a concern for the jewellery business.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

The Indian stock market began the week on a muted note, with the Sensex and Nifty closing almost unchanged from last week’s levels as strong Q1 earnings offset the impact of escalating Middle East worries.

The Sensex rose over 43 points to close at 78,542, while the Nifty 50 gained around 13 points to end the session at 24,584 on Monday. Broader markets ended mixed, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 falling 0.3%, while the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.6%.

Titan shares were the top gainers on the Sensex, jumping more than 3%. Bajaj Finance shares gained around 2%, while Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, and Asian Paints shares rose over 1% each. Bucking the trend, SBI shares erased early gains to fall more than 2%. Bharti Airtel [Note: corrected from ‘Eternal’], NTPC, and ITC shares followed, dropping 1–2%.

Among sectors, the Nifty Realty and Nifty Financial Services (excluding banks) indices gained more than 1% each to lead the advances, while the Nifty PSU Bank index dropped around 2%. Overall market breadth was slightly positive, with the NSE recording 1,739 advances and 1,703 declines, while 118 stocks remained unchanged.

What lies ahead for Dalal Street?
Markets remained on a tight leash as uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz continued to temper risk appetite, even as encouraging corporate earnings lent support to broader sentiment, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.Globally, softer-than-expected US jobs data weakened the case for Fed tightening, shifting investor focus to upcoming US inflation readings for fresh direction on rates and bond yields, the analyst noted, adding that a softer yield environment could revive interest in emerging markets and pave the way for stronger FII participation.

“Amid these global crosscurrents, India’s robust domestic growth engines and resilient economic fundamentals continue to stand out, providing a strong anchor for investor confidence,” Nair added.

Technical view on Nifty

While the fundamental view remains slightly bullish, the technical charts warrant caution. Friday’s failure to attract enough bearish momentum, has reduced Nifty’s chances of an outright fall to 24,400 or to confirm a bearish trend reversal, said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments.

He however noted that the oscillators continue to paint a consolidation picture within the 24,400-24,775 band with 24,570-24,500 emerging as a support band while 24,650-24,690-24,730 pose as upside challenge points.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday outlined his vision for a world where personal superintelligence is available to everyone rather than only a select few.

In a 14-page letter titled “The Future is for Everyone: The Path to a Positive AI Future,” Zuckerberg argued that broadly distributing superintelligent AI represents both an economic opportunity and a safeguard against concentrating too much power in the hands of governments, businesses and other institutions.

“We propose a philosophy based on individual empowerment as the source of prosperity, invention as the primary purpose of superintelligence, and balance of power as the foundation of safety,” he wrote.

His broader argument centers on individual empowerment, using AI primarily to help people invent rather than simply automate work, distributing power through checks and balances and ensuring communities benefit from Meta’s AI infrastructure investments.

ZUCKERBERG PREDICTS MORE JOBS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IF SUPERINTELLIGENCE IS WIDELY DISTRIBUTED

“All new technologies create opportunities and challenges. Superintelligence will be among the most important technologies in history, so its opportunities and challenges will likely be greater than any we’ve seen in our lifetimes. We should take this very seriously,” he added.

Zuckerberg said empowering individuals would allow people to compete with and check one another economically, socially and politically, while also helping balance the power of businesses and governments.

“But if the power of superintelligence is held by a small number of individuals, businesses, governments, or AI itself, then that will naturally lead to outcomes that are less favorable for everyone else,” Zuckerberg said. “This is not a technological principle. It is about the balance of power. There is no such thing as a singular benevolent superintelligence.”

He said the key to a positive future for everyone is achieving a balance of power that favors individuals, arguing that superintelligence should be broadly distributed to empower people.

“Meta is the company primarily focused on building personal superintelligence for everyone,” he said. “Most other labs are focused on building AI for companies, governments, or other institutions, so if those labs lead, then the balance of power will favor larger institutions over individuals. Meta’s mission since our founding has focused on putting power in people’s hands. If our beliefs and principles lead, then the balance of power will favor individuals and a better future for everyone.”

Zuckerberg also called for close cooperation between frontier AI labs and the government, saying government policy will be necessary to help ensure a positive future.

As part of that broader strategy, Zuckerberg said Meta will soon resume releasing some open-source AI models, which he described as a “positive and important force” for empowering people and preventing centralization he argues could harm safety and the economy.

“Meta continues to be strongly supportive of open source, including open source AI models. The current open source ecosystem is strong, and we think it would be a mistake to restrict it. Now that Meta Superintelligence Labs are up and running, we will resume releasing some open source models soon,” he said.

Meta also announced new open-source model releases Monday. The company is releasing the weights for Muse Glimmer, a 30-billion-parameter dense model that can run on a laptop or single consumer GPU, which Meta described as one of the highest-performing models of its size.

In the coming weeks, Meta said it will also open the weights for a version of Muse Spark 1.2, which the company described as one of the world’s leading foundation models.

Zuckerberg also previewed a new $1 billion Future is for Everyone Fund to invest directly in U.S. communities where Meta owns and operates data centers. Meta said it will work with communities to develop investments and programs tailored to local needs.

The commitment was inspired in part by what Meta said it observed in Richland Parish, Louisiana, where teachers received bonuses tied to increased tax revenue from the company’s investment.

ZUCKERBERG SAYS AI SHOULD EMPOWER PEOPLE, NOT REPLACE THEM, IN NEW META VISION

“Sustainable infrastructure development means that communities must benefit significantly from each project,” Zuckerberg wrote in his letter. “This includes high-paying local jobs, investment in schools and public services, ensuring energy prices don’t rise, and taking care of the environment. As tax revenue grows, this also benefits teachers, law enforcement, fire departments, and more. We call these local benefits our community compact, and we are launching a Future Is For Everyone Fund to support each community we work in directly.”

“For example, in Richland Parish, Louisiana, where Meta is building a large data center, teachers received a $50,000 bonus this year because of the increased tax revenue from our investment. The superintendent told us that teachers are now moving there from across the country and he believes it will become one of the nation’s best school districts,” he continued.

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Zuckerberg concluded by calling it “an incredible moment to live through” and arguing that developing superintelligence “will be the most profound technological advance we will see in our lifetimes.”

“Meta is committed to building with the principles of individual empowerment as the source of prosperity, invention as AI’s purpose, and a balance of power favoring people as the foundation for addressing safety risks,” he said.

America’s hottest housing markets are all located in the Northeast and Midwest, according to a new ZIP code-level analysis of the most in-demand housing markets.

Realtor.com released its hottest ZIP codes report for 2026, which found that those two regions swept the top 10 rankings for the fourth consecutive year.

Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com, told FOX Business in an interview that “a lot of these ZIP codes fall in suburbs that are on the outer ring of major metro areas like Boston, New York, Philadelphia.”

“It kind of paints this picture that you can still commute to the busy city center for your job, but you’re taking your big city income where you can get a little more bang for your buck, more space, more of that established suburban quiet life,” she said.

A TALE OF TWO HOUSING MARKETS: LUXURY DEMAND SURGES AS AFFORDABILITY SQUEEZES STARTER-HOME BUYERS

Housing supply in the communities that comprised the top 10 of this year’s rankings is especially tight, as Jones noted that inventory levels are running about 60% below pre-pandemic levels in those communities – whereas inventories across the country are just 11% below where they were before the pandemic.

She also said that many home shoppers in these markets are coming from within the metro area they’re closest to, as opposed to being from outside the region to move, adding that “we’re not seeing as much of that cross-country migration type of buyer demand.”

Another characteristic of those markets is that the scarcity is driving buyers to pay above asking price, with nine of the top 10 seeing homes sell at or above asking price with an average sale-to-list ratio of 103.8%. Around the country, the typical home sold for about 2.3% below its list price in the first half of 2026.

THESE AMERICAN CITIES ARE TRENDING TOWARD A BUYER’S MARKET

Buyers are also putting more money down when purchasing a home in the ZIP codes that make up the top 10 rankings as opposed to the national average.

“When we’re looking at these buyer profiles, we see that they tend to put down a lot as a down payment. Across these 10 top ZIP codes, the typical buyer is putting down about 17% as the down payment, compared to about 13% nationally – and both of those figures are also higher than they were even before the pandemic,” Jones said.

“We also know they tend to have higher credit scores, and all this is pointing to this idea that today’s borrowers have to be more financially equipped and financially ready to participate in today’s housing market because with mortgage rates in the mid-to-high 6% range,” she said.

Jones added that the buyers who are participating in these markets “tend to be very financially able to participate, they have a little bit more money to put down, and they’re more financially robust than the typical U.S. buyer.”

HERE’S THE INCOME NEEDED TO AFFORD THE TYPICAL AMERICAN HOME

Realtor.com’s rankings are based on an algorithm that considers market demand based on unique viewers per property on the Realtor.com website, as well as the pace of the market as measured by the number of days a listing remains actively listed on the platform.

Here’s Realtor.com’s list of the hottest ZIP codes in America:

1) 01960 – Peabody, Massachusetts

2) 07042 – Montclair, New Jersey

3) 08080 – Sewell, New Jersey

4) 14450 – Fairport, New York

5) 01085 – Westfield, Massachusetts

6) 48154 – Livonia, Michigan

7) 17543 – Lititz, Pennsylvania

8) 06473 – North Haven, Connecticut

9) 53151 – New Berlin, Wisconsin

10) 60187 – Wheaton, Illinois

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The five oil supermajors- Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies- made a combined $48 billion profit between April and June, helped by higher fossil fuel prices amid hostilities between the US and Iran, following which oil prices went flying to over $100 per barrel.

The companies also generated nearly $90 billion in cash during the quarter, the highest level on record and above the cash generated following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

The strong earnings have also drawn political criticism. US President Donald Trump last week criticised Exxon and Chevron for making “too much money” from higher fuel prices during the Iran war and renewed his call for lower prices at the pump.

Where is the money going?

Much of the additional cash has gone towards building reserves and reducing debt, according to IEEFA’s (Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysts ) Williams-Derry to CNBC. Cash reserves across the five supermajors increased by a little over $17 billion from the previous quarter.

Williams-Derry described the industry’s financial approach as one that relies on periodic price spikes, such as those triggered by the Ukraine and Iran crises, to strengthen finances. He said periods of high prices and fuel shortages provide financial relief after longer stretches of low and stable prices.
CNBC reported that the companies were focusing on areas they can control during the Middle East conflict, including operational performance, trading and optimisation.BP CEO Meg O’Neill said the company was concentrating on reliability across its upstream assets, where it produces oil, as well as its refining operations. She said BP had also changed the way its refineries were operating to maximise the availability of products most needed by consumers, including jet fuel and diesel.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan described volatility as “the new normal” and said higher commodity prices had provided a strong tailwind for the company’s results.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents about 600 drilling companies, refiners and other industry participants, said oil and gas is a cyclical business that should be assessed over decades rather than quarters. It also opposed calls for a windfall tax on excess profits.

The API said the industry was delivering record production and world-leading refining during one of the biggest global energy disruptions in decades, while continuing to invest in supply, infrastructure and resilience.

On windfall taxes, the lobby group said such taxes would not lower consumer prices and could discourage the long-term investment needed to strengthen supply, infrastructure and energy resilience.

Where is oil headed?

The duration of the supply disruption will be a key factor in determining where oil prices go from here. JPMorgan estimates that every additional month of disruption could add about $7 to $8 a barrel to Brent prices. If the disruption lasts three months, the bank expects average monthly Brent prices to reach around $114 a barrel.

Goldman Sachs has similarly warned that Brent could rise to $120 a barrel if shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil transit route, continue.

Read more: US Iran war: Trump may ditch nuclear deal plan if Tehran reopens HormuzIts base case, however, remains that tensions in the Middle East will eventually ease. In that scenario, Goldman expects Brent to average $80 a barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 a barrel next year. It also cautioned that risks remain tilted to the upside due to the possibility of prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)