Mumbai: Heightened volatility in equities amid escalating conflict in West Asia is prompting many companies with Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) lined up over the next few weeks to pause and reassess their launch timelines. Their dilemma is whether to take a plunge at lower valuations or hold out for the stock market conditions to improve.

“Companies are preferring to take a more tactical approach on whether to proceed or hold back,” according to Bhavesh Shah, managing director & head – Investment Banking, Equirus Capital. “Investor sentiment has made issuers more calibrated about launch windows and pricing.”

Currently, 141 companies have regulatory approvals – valid for a year from the date of clearance – to collectively raise about ₹1.64 lakh crore through IPOs, according to data from Prime Database. At least 80 companies still have an approval window of up to 3-9 months to launch their issues, but bankers are concerned about the investor appetite for new shares, should the secondary markets remain wobbly.

“Global geopolitical tensions and the recalibration of trade deals are creating a risk-off environment among international institutional investors who anchor large Indian IPO books,” said Ganesh Jagdishen, CEO of Plutus Global – a cross-border M&A and capital raising advisory firm. “Some companies will likely hold up their IPO launches if approval is valid for a little longer.”
Approvals of five companies – Continuum Green Energy Ltd, GSP Crop Science Ltd, Jajoo Rashmi Refractories Ltd, Ajay Poly Ltd and Veritas Finance Ltd – are set to expire over the next two months, according to data from Prime Database.

Rising tensions, a sharp spike in crude oil prices and renewed foreign investor selling triggered a sell-off in the market in the past week. The Sensex decline of about 3% in this period.
“The primary market always takes cues from the secondary market. The ongoing volatility in the secondary market is the key reason behind fewer IPO launches,” said Pranav Haldea, managing director at Prime Database.

Gold and silver prices opened slightly lower on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) on Thursday as the US dollar strengthened by 0.1%, making dollar-denominated bullion costlier for holders of other currencies. Since gold and silver are priced in dollars globally, a stronger greenback means buyers using other currencies need to spend more to purchase the same ounce.

Investors are now looking ahead to the release of January’s delayed Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index on Friday.

MCX silver futures due May 2026 were down Rs 2,126 or 0.8% to Rs 2,66,362 per kg. Meanwhile, gold futures for April 2026 delivery fell Rs 708 or 0.43% to Rs 1,61,081 per 10 grams.

In the international market, spot gold was down 0.1% at $5,172.86 per ounce as of 0221 GMT, while US gold futures for April delivery remained unchanged at $5,178. Meanwhile, spot silver fell 0.3% to $85.49 per ounce.

How should you trade gold?

“We are witnessing very high volatility in both precious metals. However, silver prices could hold their support level of $74.00 per troy ounce, while gold may sustain its support at $4,940 per troy ounce on a closing basis this week. We expect gold and silver to remain volatile amid fluctuations in the dollar index, the US-Iran war, and sharp moves in crude oil prices,” said Manoj Kumar Jain of Prithvi Finmart.

He said gold has support at $5,145 to $5,100 and resistance at $5,220 to $5,264 per troy ounce. Silver, meanwhile, has support at $82.80 to $79.10 and resistance at $88.00 to $90.40 per troy ounce in today’s session.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange of India, gold has support at Rs 1,59,800 to Rs 1,59,000 and resistance at Rs 1,62,700 to Rs 1,63,500, while silver has support at Rs 2,65,500 to Rs 2,61,600 and resistance at Rs 2,71,000 to Rs 2,75,000. Jain advised investors to wait for some stability in the markets before initiating fresh positions.

Gold, silver rates today, 12 March 2026, across major cities

Gold price today in Delhi

Standard gold (22 carat) prices in Delhi stand at Rs 1,19,888 per 8 grams, while pure gold (24 carat) prices stand at Rs 1,30,776 per 8 grams.

Gold price today in Mumbai

Standard gold (22 carat) prices in Mumbai stand at Rs 1,19,768 per 8 grams, while pure gold (24 carat) prices stand at Rs 1,30,656 per 8 grams.

Gold price today in Chennai

Standard gold (22 carat) prices in Chennai stand at Rs 1,20,968 per 8 grams, while pure gold (24 carat) prices stand at Rs 1,31,968 per 8 grams.

Gold price today in Hyderabad
Standard gold (22 carat) prices in Hyderabad stand at Rs 1,19,768 per 8 grams, while pure gold (24 carat) prices stand at Rs 1,30,656 per 8 grams.

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

Jefferies has cut its target price on Bharti Airtel as it factors in a potential delay in Jio’s IPO and rising macro risks, even as it reiterates a Buy call and says the risk-reward remains extremely favourable. The brokerage has lowered its price target to Rs 2,250 from Rs 2,575, implying 25% upside from the previous close, after trimming its India revenue and EBITDA estimates by 6-8% over FY26–28.

In its latest note, Jefferies flagged that tariff hikes could be pushed back as the much-awaited Jio IPO may be delayed beyond the first half of calendar 2026 due to regulatory overhang.

“The chances of a tariff hike by June 2026 are low,” the report said, citing two key reasons, a potential rise in inflation driven by higher energy prices and the fact that “even after six months since Sebi approved reducing the minimum stake-sale requirement for large IPOs to 2.5%, the final gazette notification has not yet been issued.”

Jefferies warned that this could “potentially delay Jio’s IPO beyond 1HCY26, which in turn could push back tariff hikes,” prompting it to assume only a single 15% sectoral tariff hike in December 2026 and cut Bharti’s India mobile ARPU and EBITDA forecasts accordingly.

The second key drag on the target price is Bharti’s surprise foray into the NBFC business, which the brokerage said has raised “concerns over capital allocation” and weighed on the stock despite earnings upgrades.

Bharti shares are down 14% so far in 2026, underperforming the Nifty50 by about 5 percentage points, with Jefferies noting that the “bulk of the price decline” came after the NBFC announcement, even though FY27-28 consensus revenue and EBITDA estimates have seen upgrades of up to 1% over the same period.
The company plans to infuse Rs 14,000 crore into the new lending venture (Rs 20,000 crore from the Bharti group), which would position it among the top NBFCs by net worth in a market “dominated by a few firms that have consolidated market share in recent years.”Jefferies estimates the NBFC could add around 3% to Bharti’s current market price in the best-case scenario (at 4x price-to-book) and erode about 1% in the worst case (0x price-to-book), but stressed that “further such moves in the future can’t be ruled out.”

To reflect the twin risks of Jio IPO/tariff-hike timing and Bharti’s capital allocation into financial services, Jefferies has cut its target EV/EBITDA multiple for Bharti’s India operations to 12x from 13x.

This de-rating, combined with lower revenue and earnings assumptions, results in an 8–11% cut to FY27-28 earnings estimates, even as the brokerage continues to factor in 13–14% CAGR in India revenues and EBITDA and sees Bharti’s India EBITDA (ex-tower) ranging between Rs 920-1,245 billion by FY28, depending on tariff and margin trends.

“Despite the earnings revisions, Bharti Airtel offers a strong 13–14% CAGR in India revenues and EBITDA,” Jefferies said, adding that based on a valuation range of 9.5–13.5x EV/EBITDA, its fair value band of Rs 1,570–2,890 per share implies “59% upside and 13% downside — making the risk-reward extremely favourable.”

The brokerage reiterated its Buy rating on the stock.

Apple refreshed its popular MacBook Air lineup in March 2026 with the new M5 chip, faster SSD storage and enhanced wireless capabilities, positioning the slim laptop as one of the strongest options for everyday computing, creative work and portability.

The update, announced earlier this month and available starting March 11, brings the 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch models in line with Apple’s latest silicon advancements. Starting prices are $1,099 for the 13-inch version and $1,299 for the 15-inch, reflecting a $100 increase from prior generations but offset by doubled base storage at 512GB and other refinements.

Reviewers from outlets including Wirecutter, CNET, MacRumors and Tom’s Guide have praised the M5 MacBook Air as an “almost perfect” ultraportable, highlighting its speed, efficiency and all-day battery life. The machine remains fanless, silent and remarkably thin, measuring just 11.3mm for the 13-inch model (2.7 pounds) and 11.5mm for the 15-inch (3.3 pounds).

At the heart of the refresh is Apple’s M5 chip, built on a third-generation 3-nanometer process. It features a 10-core CPU with four performance cores and six efficiency cores, paired with a 10-core GPU (configurable on higher models) and a 16-core Neural Engine optimized for Apple Intelligence features. The chip delivers noticeable gains over the M4 predecessor in sustained tasks, multitasking and AI-accelerated workloads like photo editing, video encoding and code compilation.

Early benchmarks and hands-on tests show the M5 MacBook Air handling 4K video editing in Final Cut Pro smoothly, running multiple demanding apps without throttling, and supporting hardware-accelerated ray tracing for improved graphics in compatible software. Compared to the M4 model, the M5 offers better memory bandwidth, faster SSD read/write speeds—Apple claims up to 2x in some scenarios—and improved energy efficiency.

Battery life remains a standout, with Apple rating up to 18 hours of video playback and 15 hours of wireless web use on the 15-inch model. Real-world testing from reviewers confirms the laptop easily lasts a full workday or longer under mixed use, including browsing, streaming, document work and light creative tasks.

The design carries over from recent generations: a flat, wedge-free aluminum unibody available in Sky Blue, Midnight, Starlight and Silver. The Liquid Retina display—2560 x 1664 on the 13-inch and 2880 x 1864 on the 15-inch—offers sharp visuals, 500 nits brightness and wide color coverage (P3). While it lacks the ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate found on higher-end MacBook Pros, the 60Hz panel feels fluid for most users.

Connectivity includes two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, a MagSafe 3 charging port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and support for up to two external displays with the lid open—a capability enhanced in recent models. The 1080p Center Stage webcam performs well for video calls, and the six-speaker system (on the 15-inch) delivers rich, immersive audio.

Apple’s commitment to unified memory starts at 16GB across the lineup (configurable up to 32GB), ensuring smooth performance even with dozens of browser tabs or large files open. The base 512GB SSD uses faster technology than previous generations, reducing load times for apps and files.

Critics note few drawbacks. The notch at the top of the display remains divisive for some, and port selection stays limited compared to Windows competitors. No nano-texture display option exists on the Air, reserved for Pro models. The price bump to $1,099 from the M4’s $999 starting point drew mild criticism, though the added storage and performance justify it for many.

Buy MacBook Air M5

In a market crowded with Windows ultrabooks and emerging Arm-based challengers like Qualcomm Snapdragon devices, the MacBook Air M5 stands out for its ecosystem integration, build quality and longevity. Apple typically supports machines with software updates for years, and the M5’s efficiency positions it well for future macOS releases.

For students, remote workers, content creators and casual users, the MacBook Air continues to excel. The 13-inch model prioritizes maximum portability, while the 15-inch offers a larger canvas for productivity without sacrificing much mobility.

Apple positions the Air as the ideal “do-it-all” laptop for most people, bridging casual use and professional demands without the higher cost or bulk of MacBook Pro variants. With the M5 refresh arriving early in its product cycle—no major redesign expected until 2027—the timing favors buyers seeking the latest tech.

As competition intensifies from lower-priced options like the newly introduced MacBook Neo (starting at $599 with an A-series chip), the MacBook Air M5 targets users who value premium performance, premium build and seamless Apple integration over rock-bottom pricing.

Early adopters and reviewers agree: the MacBook Air with M5 isn’t revolutionary, but it refines an already excellent formula into what many call one of the best laptops available in 2026.

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