BACK PAGE | PAGE 20 ECONOMY | PAGE 2 TN sees 84%voter turnout; over 90% in Bengal phase 1 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 India a tough nut to crack on agri trade: USTR Greer CHENNAI/KOCHI, FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2026 Trumpissues‘shoot&kill’ ordersinStraitofHormuz FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLVI 298, 20 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 77,664.00 ▼ 852.49 NIFTY: 24,173.05 ▼ 205.05 NIKKEI 225: 59,140.23 ▼ 445.63 HANG SENG: 25,915.20 ▼ 248.04 `/$: 94.11 ▼ 0.31 `/€: 110.05 ▲ 0.15 BRENT: $102.90 ▲ $0.99 GOLD: `1,50,251 ▼ `1,233 ECONOMY PAGE 3 AT $4.6 BN, NET FDI BACK IN POSITIVE ZONE IN FEBRUARY AFTER CONTRACTING FOR six straight months, net foreign direct investment (FDI) into India turned positive in February at $4.6 billion, offering some relief amid persistent outflows by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) under the shadow of the West Asia conflict, report Saikat Neogi & Prasanta Sahu. During April 2025-February 2026, FDI inflows remained higher than last year in both gross and net terms, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) latest monthly bulletin showed. Mfg rebounds in April, indicates front-loading AFTER LOSING MOMENTUM in March due to the war in West Asia, HSBC’s Flash India Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) index rose to 55.9 in April (53.9 in March), indicating a quicker upturn for manufacturers than the services sector, reports Saikat Neogi. An HSBC report says it is a case of front-loading production. ■ PAGE 2 IBAASKEDTO PREPARE DEFENCE FM flags risks to banking from Mythos FE BUREAU New Delhi, April 23 FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA Sitharaman on Thursday met heads of banks to review risksrelatedtoartificialintelligence (AI), amid global concerns over Anthropic’s Mythos model potentially threatening the data security of financial systems. She advised the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to develop a coordinated institutional mechanism to respond swiftly and effectively to any such threats. “Thenatureoftheemerging threat from the latestAI Model is unprecedented and requires a very high degree of vigilance, preparedness and better coordination across financial institutions and banks,” Sitharamansaid,accordingtoa post by the ministry on X without naming Mythos. The Reserve Bank of India is also in discussions with global regulators, Indian banks, and the government to evaluatepotentialrisksarising fromMythos.TheRBImayalso seek direct engagement with seniorleadershipofAnthropic. The high-level meeting, chaired by Sitharaman with I&B minister Ashwini Vaish- NIRMALA SITHARAMAN, FINANCE MINISTER Emergingthreat fromthelatest AImodelis unprecedentedand requiresaveryhigh degreeofvigilance Infycuts FY27 growth guidance ● Q4 profit, revenue beat estimates POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, April 23 IT MAJOR INFOSYS on Thursday forecast a revenue growth of 1.5-3.5% for FY27 in constant currency, reducing the lower end of guidance, compared with the previous quarter's 3-3.5%, factoring in global uncertainties and moderate impact from AI-led deflation. The company's ADR was trading 5% lower in the US pre-market session. However, the company reported a sequential increase in net profit and revenue for the January-March quarter, surpassing Bloomberg estimates for both. Q3FY26 Revenue Q4FY26 (` crore) Ebitda 2.0 Ebitda margin (%) 23.4 Benchmarks in red zone We signed multiple large deals in Europe, including one of the biggest manufacturing contracts and NHS deal BENCHMARK INDICES ON Thursday marked their worst fallinninesessionsasthedelay in the West Asia truce continued to disappoint investors, reports Anjana Therese Antony.The volatility in crude oilpricesandtherupee,including the possibility of another lean earnings season are keeping investors wary. ■ PAGE 6 q-o-q % change Net profit 10,634 11,167 6,654 8,501 5.0 Net profit margin (%) 24.1 Net profit rose by 27.8% quarter-on-quarter to `8,501 crore from `6,654 crore, above Bloomberg estimates of `7,496 crore. Meanwhile, total revenue from operations increased 2% sequentiallyto `46,402 from `45,479 crore, marginally higher than estimates of `46,135 crore. Infosys managed to also 27.8 14.6 18.3 meet its guidance for revenue growth in FY26 as growth held up at 3.1% on a yearon-year basis in terms of constant currency. Earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) was at `9,743 crore, a rise of 16.6% on a quarterly basis, beating estimates of `9,565 crore. The company’s fourth quarterEbit margin expanded 21% from 18.4% in the previous quarter. The company also offered a guidance between 20% and 22% for operating margin, which is in line with the guidance theygave in the previous quarter. Continued on Page 10 Small is no longer big for Maruti ● Mid-segment models drive over half of FY26 sales naw, was attended by scheduled commercial banks and key stakeholders to assess thepotentialimpactofemerging threats linked to recent developments in AI models, particularly the possibility of such technologies being misused to weaponise software vulnerabilities. Continued on Page 10 NITIN KUMAR & VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, April 23 MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA is increasingly looking less like a small car company and more like a volume player in the mid-segment,withahandfulof models nowdriving the bulk of its business. Five models— CHANGING LANES ■ Five models, Fronx, Dzire, Swift, Ertiga and Baleno, accounted for over 50% of Maruti's total FY26 sales QUICK PICKS SALIL PAREKH, CEO, INFOSYS REPORT CARD Infosys consolidated financials 45,479 46,402 IN THE NEWS ■ In unit terms, these five models sold 958,279 units out of total 1,823,129 Fronx, Dzire, Swift, Ertiga and Baleno—together accounted for 52.56% of the company’s ■ Maruti recorded its highest-ever output at 2.34 mn units in FY26, up about 12% from FY25 total sales in FY26, up from 49.35% in FY25.In unit terms, thesefivemodelssold958,279 units out of total sales of 1,823,129 units in FY26,comparedwith869,011unitsoutof 1,760,767 units ayearearlier. The shift is significant for a company long associated with entry-level cars such as the Maruti 800 and Alto. Over the years, Maruti Suzuki has steadilyexpanded its presence in premium hatchbacks, sedans and utility vehicles, and the latest numbers suggest that transition has crossed a threshold. Continued on Page 10 CHENNAI/KOCHI Oil remains above $100 OIL PRICES STEADIED on Thursday, holding on to gains from the previous session on stalled peace talks between Iran and the US and continued restrictions on trade through the Strait of Hormuz, reports Reuters. Brent crude futures rose marginally to $102.21 a barrel after settling above $100 for the first time in more than two weeks on Wednesday. PAGE 10 Re breaches 94 as oil boils THE RUPEE CROSSED the94mark against the dollar on Thursday as oil prices spiked, hovering above $100 per barrel, reports Christina Titus. The domestic currency ended at 94.11, down 30 paise from the previous close,the highest level nearly three weeks, according to Bloomberg. The domestic currency has fallen over 1% this week. ■ PAGE 7
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