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Oil prices rise more than 2% as US and Iran extend talks

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Oil prices rise more than 2% as US and Iran extend talks
Oil prices rose ​about 2% on Friday with traders bracing for supply disruptions as nuclear talks between the United States and Iran had yet to reach an agreement. Brent crude futures settled at $72.48 a barrel, up $1.73, or 2.45%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $67.02 a barrel, up $1.81, or 2.78%.

The two sides ‌agreed to extend ⁠indirect negotiations ⁠into next week but traders grew skeptical that an agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump‘s administration and Iran was possible.

“The likelihood Iran is going to agree to what the Trump administration wants doesn’t seem possible,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. “There’s got to be an endgame to this and the market seems to think that’s where we are headed.”

OIL BENCHMARKS ON TRACK FOR WEEKLY GAINS

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The Brent and WTI benchmarks were trading at their highest since July and August, respectively, and were poised to register weekly gains well above ​1%.


“Uncertainty prevails, fear is pushing prices higher today,” said Tamas Varga, an oil ⁠analyst at ‌brokerage PVM. “It is completely driven by the outcome of the Iranian nuclear talks and possible military action the U.S. might take against Iran.” The United States and Iran held indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday after ⁠Trump ordered a military buildup in the region.
Oil prices gained more than a dollar a barrel during the talks, on media reports indicating that discussions had stalled over U.S. insistence on zero enrichment of uranium by Iran. However, prices eased after the Omani mediator said the two sides had made progress. They plan to resume negotiations with technical-level discussions scheduled next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said on X.”We think the latest round of talks offers some hope on chances of a peaceful resolution, but military strikes are in no way out of the equation,” said DBS analyst Suvro Sarkar. Trump said on February 19 ‌that Iran must make a deal over its nuclear programme within 10 to 15 days or “really bad things” will happen.

Geopolitical risk premiums of $8 to $10 a barrel have been built into oil prices on fears that a conflict will disrupt Middle East supply through ⁠the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of global oil supply passes, Sarkar said. To cushion the impact from a possible strike, UAE oil producer Abu Dhabi is set to export more of its flagship Murban crude in April, two trade sources said on Friday. Earlier this week, other sources said Saudi Arabia would also increase oil production. Additionally, Saudi Arabia may raise its April crude price to Asia for the first time in five months due to higher demand from India to replace Russian supplies, potentially raising it by about $1 a barrel. Producer group OPEC+, meanwhile, is likely to consider raising oil output by 137,000 barrels per day for April at its March 1 meeting, sources said, after suspending production increases in the first quarter. (Reporting by Erwin Seba, Anna Hirtenstein, Florence Tan and Nicole Jao; Editing by Rod Nickel)

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Trump says US carrying out ’major combat operations’ in Iran

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Trump says US carrying out ’major combat operations’ in Iran


Trump says US carrying out ’major combat operations’ in Iran

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JPMorgan upgrades Coles Group stock rating on valuation gap

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JPMorgan upgrades Coles Group stock rating on valuation gap

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Shipping Corporation fined: NSE, BSE impose Rs 5.42 lakh penalty each for Sebi norm violation

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Shipping Corporation fined: NSE, BSE impose Rs 5.42 lakh penalty each for Sebi norm violation
Leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE have slapped a fine of Rs 5.42 lakh each on state-run Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) for non-compliance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) listing regulations.

The Navratna PSU informed about the development via a filing to the exchanges on Saturday. It said that the action will not have any significant impact on the company’s financial, operational, or other activities.

On Friday, February 27, 2026, the company received an email from BSE and a notice from the National Stock Exchange levying a total fine of Rs 5,42,800, each for non-compliance with Regulation 17(1) of Sebi Listing Regulations regarding the composition of the Board of Directors.

Shares of Shipping Corporation ended 1.8% lower on the NSE at Rs 263.47.

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SCI operates oil tankers and product carriers that move crude oil from overseas suppliers to Indian refineries, making it strategically important for energy security. Its stock has rewarded investors with returns of 76% in the past 12 months, significantly outperforming the Indian benchmarks Nifty and the BSE Sensex, whose returns in the same period stand at 12% and 9%, respectively, according to Trendlyne.


The stock is currently trading above its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages of Rs 233 and Rs 226, respectively, the Trendlyne data said.
The company reported a staggering 440% jump in net profit for the third quarter of FY26. Net profit for the quarter rose to Rs 405 crore, sharply higher than the Rs 75.52 crore reported in the corresponding quarter last year.Revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,612 crore, marking a 22.5% increase from Rs 1,316 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in an exchange filing.

The tanker segment led the performance, with revenue rising 34% to Rs 1,097 crore, while operating profit (earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT) surged 389% year-on-year. The bulk carrier segment also posted strong growth, with revenue climbing to Rs 237.51 crore from Rs 147 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

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

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Bybit Introduces Fixed-Rate UTA Loans Offering Up to 10x Leverage and Up to 180-Day Borrowing

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Bybit Introduces Fixed-Rate UTA Loans Offering Up to 10x Leverage and Up to 180-Day Borrowing

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Bharat Electronics announces record date for interim dividend of Rs 1.95 per share

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Bharat Electronics announces record date for interim dividend of Rs 1.95 per share
State-run defence company Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) on Friday declared an interim dividend of Rs 1.95 per share for the financial year 2025-26 and set the record date on Thursday, March 5 for determining the eligible shareholders. The interim dividend will be paid within 30 days from the date of declaration, the company said in its filing to the exchanges.

The record date of a dividend is the cut-off date set by a company to determine which shareholders are eligible to receive the declared dividend.

BEL dividend history / dividend yield

The PSU company has declared 51 dividends since August 29, 2003. In the past 12 months, Bharat Electronics has declared an equity dividend amounting to ₹2.40 per share, according to Trendlyne. At the current share price of Rs 444.70, Bharat Electronics’s dividend yield is 0.54%.

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BEL share price performance

BEL shares ended at Rs 444.70 on the NSE on Friday, declining by 4.35 or 1% over the Thursday closing price.


The Nifty stock has had a stellar run on the D-Street, delivering 74% returns in the past 12 months. It is the second best performer n the frontline index and only behind Shriram Finace whose returns of 78%, remain ahead.
Meanwhile, Nifty and the BSE Sensex have yielded 12% and 9% in the same period.BEL shares are currently trading above their 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages of Rs 422 and Rs 405, respectively, according to Trendlyne.

The defence electronics major reported a decent set of numbers for the December quarter. The company’s consolidated net profit rose to Rs 1,580 crore, compared with Rs 1,312 crore in the same period last year. This translates into a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 21%. Revenue from operations for the quarter rose 24% YoY to Rs 7,154 crore.

Sequentially, profit was higher than the Rs 1,287 crore reported in the September quarter. Compared with the previous quarter, revenue also rose from Rs 5,946 crore.

Including other income of Rs 139 crore, BEL’s total income for the quarter came in at Rs 7,292 crore, compared with Rs 5,957 crore in the year-ago period.

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

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Melrose Industries Stock: Sell-Off Looks Overdone After Strong Results (MLSPF)

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Melrose Industries Stock: Sell-Off Looks Overdone After Strong Results (MLSPF)

This article was written by

Dhierin-Perkash Bechai is an aerospace, defense and airline analyst.
Dhierin runs the investing group The Aerospace Forum, whose goal is to discover investment opportunities in the aerospace, defense and airline industry. With a background in aerospace engineering, he provides analysis of a complex industry with significant growth prospects, and offers context to developments as they occur, describing how they might affect investment theses. His investing ideas are driven by data informed analysis. The investing group also provides direct access to data analytics monitors.
Learn more.

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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Crypto trend-following trade finds relief after sharp selloff

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Crypto trend-following trade finds relief after sharp selloff
Choppy crypto markets punished trend-following funds in 2025, with violent swings erasing months of positioning. This year’s decisive selloff has offered a reprieve.

Digital-asset investment firm XBTO’s trend fund rose 13.3% last month, its second-best since launching in February 2024, as Bitcoin fell more than 10% and Ether dropped 18%. The gain was driven by a timely flip to short positions as crypto markets broke lower in the final week of January, with more than seven percentage points of the return coming in those last few days, according to Karl Naim, the firm’s chief commercial officer.

One month doesn’t change a challenging trading landscape. But for a strategy that struggled last year, recent gains offer a well needed boost — and a reminder that trend-following can still pay when markets finally pick a direction.

Crypto trend fund performanceBloomberg

Bitcoin peaked near $126,000 in early October and has since fallen sharply, with the broader crypto market losing $2 trillion in crypto market value along the way, according to CoinGecko. Trend models that rode momentum higher got whipsawed by the fast reversal. The fund lost money in five of the previous six months and finished 2025 down 7.8%. Industry-wide, quant trend funds returned 0.44% last year, down from 65% in 2024, according to Crypto Insights Group. Market-neutral strategies, which don’t rely on directional bets, gained 14.7%.

Those that caught the downturn, though, are now benefiting.
“We have been net short in February, have taken some risk off the table, and continue to see potential downside pressure on Bitcoin,” Naim said.
XBTO’s trend fund trades crypto perpetual futures and focuses on the most liquid tokens, typically the top-50 by market value. Perpetual futures are derivatives that track an asset’s price without an expiry date. Positions are driven by a systematic momentum model that scans market and blockchain data.
XBTO was founded in 2015 by Philippe Bekhazi, a former SAC Capital trader, and is regulated in Bermuda and Abu Dhabi.

Trend-following is a well-established strategy in traditional markets, where large quant firms manage billions of dollars. In crypto, the approach can win big in one-way markets like in 2021, 2023 and 2024. But it remains largely unproven at scale — funds are far smaller, track records are short, and the market’s tendency toward sudden, violent reversals makes sustained momentum difficult to capture.

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XBTO manages about $100 million across its funds and is targeting to raise another $100 million this year.

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Israel and US launch strikes on Iran

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Israel and US launch strikes on Iran


Israel and US launch strikes on Iran

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U.S. Earnings Season Ends On Strong Note

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U.S. Earnings Season Ends On Strong Note

U.S. Earnings Season Ends On Strong Note

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Israel moves against Iran, ending diplomatic hopes

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Israel moves against Iran, ending diplomatic hopes

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