Wall Street Live: US stock futures fall as Iran vows retaliation to airstrikes
Investors fear a broader conflict in the Middle East as Tehran warned that the US attack had expanded the scope of its military action.
At 07:43 AM ET, Dow E-minis were down 98 points, or 0.23%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 10.25 points, or 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 45.75 points, or 0.21%.
Oil prices climbed in a volatile session amid concerns around Iran shutting the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil supply route. Brent futures were up 1.2% at $77.91 a barrel as of 07:22 AM ET.
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Two and three wheelers rides in fast lane for Uber
Mumbai: More than 60% of Uber customers in India are currently opting for two- and three-wheelers , marking a shift in consumer mobility preferences at the ride-hailing platform from passenger vehicles. Uber, which leads India's ride-hailing market, employs about 1.4 million driver partners, up from 1 million in 2024, reflecting steady demand growth. "In India, more than three out of every five trips are now on two-wheelers or three-wheelers," Prabhjeet Singh, president, Uber India and South Asia told ET. He was speaking on the sidelines of the Uber Pragati event in Mumbai. According to him, a key driver of this transition is growing demand for affordable and flexible transport, especially in congested urban and semi-urban areas. Singh said categories such as intercity, airport travel, and premium offerings are also seeing "massive growth," supported by new product innovations and affordability features. Even as it expands into multiple use cases, Uber's electrification efforts have remained modest. The company operates 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs) across two-, three-, and four-wheeler categories, comprising less than 2% of its 1.4 million active vehicles in India. Live Events "EV adoption is growing, but penetration is definitely lower than I would like it to be," Singh said. He pointed to hurdles including high financing costs, unclear residual value of EVs, and inadequate charging infrastructure as key challenges slowing the transition. India's EV ecosystem, according to Singh, is still developing, and the cost burden of vehicle ownership continues to be a barrier. "Someone has to buy the asset and deploy it on the platform. That's harder for EVs," he said. To navigate these challenges, Uber is partnering with institutional fleet operators who invest in vehicles and charging networks. Its Uber Green service , which offers EV rides, is currently operational in three Indian cities. India is Uber's third-largest market globally by volume. To drive further growth, the company has started new services such as Uber for Seniors and Uber Pet besides affordability features like Wait and Save. While EV adoption remains a long-term goal, Uber is currently focusing on expanding access through lower-cost, high-volume mobility options, said Singh. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
IndiGo likely to firm up orders for more Airbus A350s: Executive
Mumbai: IndiGo is expected to convert its purchase rights for 40 Airbus A350 family aircraft into a firm order, said a senior executive at the French plane maker. IndiGo, India's largest carrier, had in April last year placed a firm order for 30 A350-900 aircraft and secured an option for an additional 70 A350 aircraft. Of this, last month, it converted 30 into a firm order, increasing its total confirmed A350 order book to 60 planes. "They actually will order more aircraft. More likely would, because they secured that right, because they believe they will need those aircraft. And so, the (Indian) market is such that it's easy to appreciate that there is a need for much more advanced aircraft," Benoit de Saint-Exupery, executive vice-president sales of the commercial aircraft business at Airbus, told ET. He did not say when IndiGo is expected to place the order. A spokesperson for IndiGo, run by InterGlobe Aviation , did not respond to email queries. IndiGo's A350-900 planes, first ordered in 2024, will start arriving from mid-2027. The A350 is a long-range aircraft used by global airlines. It comes in two types - the A350-900 and the larger A350-1000. The aircraft can carry 300 to 410 passengers and can fly up to 18,000 km, or 15 to 18 hours nonstop. Live Events It is not yet clear whether IndiGo's future A350 orders will be for the A350-900 or the larger A350-1000. So far, Air India is the only homegrown carrier to order the A350-1000, which will feature a four-class layout including first class. In June 2023, IndiGo placed the largest ever single aircraft order by any airline for 500 aircraft with Airbus. With that, the airline's outstanding orderbook for A320 family aircraft reached nearly 1,000 aircraft which are slated for delivery by the next decade. It comprises a mix of A320NEO, A321NEO and A321XLR aircraft. IndiGo currently has orders for 1,400 aircraft, including the 30 A350s it ordered in June this year. Out of this, more than 455 planes have already been delivered to IndiGo. The A350-900 is listed at $308.1 million, while the A350-1000 is priced at $355.7 million, according to London-based aircraft broker AXON Aviation Group. Both Airbus and Boeing stopped publishing official aircraft prices in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Final aircraft prices vary for each airline and are usually negotiated privately. Airbus has orders for 1,391 A350 aircraft as of May 31 and has delivered 648 of the total, according to its website. Airbus also sees a role for its smaller A220 planes in India's regional routes, said Remi Maillard, president of Airbus India & South Asia. He said India's young population, strong economy, and strategic location between the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe makes it well-placed to drive aviation growth. Separately, Airbus, which is currently sourcing up to $1.4 billion worth of aerospace parts annually from India, aims to increase it by $600 million "well before the end of this decade," said Maillard. On sectors where Airbus sees potential to further grow its business in India, he said, "Defence, space, helicopters, commercial aviation, and the services related to all these... India is the fastest growing market, not only for commercial aviation, but for helicopters."
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Pharma lobby flags 'cumbersome' export rule, seeks change
New Delhi: A significant dip in exports has prompted pharma lobby groups to raise a demand for changing the centralised no-object certification (NOC) provision for drug exports . The provision, which requires pharma companies to seek an approval from the national regulatory agency of the importing country or an NOC from the Indian regulator for shipments, has resulted in a drop in exports and diverted trade to other nations, industry executives told ET. The issue was raised in a meeting held on Monday at Niti Aayog . "Pharma exports have suffered due to the mismatch or an anomaly in newly introduced regulatory standards by the drug regulatory authority of India," said a person who attended the meeting. In early March, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) updated the export NOC checklist in the wake of events such as the controversy over a Mumbai-based drugmaker allegedly exporting addictive opioid drugs to West African nations such as Ghana and Nigeria. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like What the Market May Be Getting Wrong About Nvidia Seeking Alpha Read More Undo However, the stringent norms have started hurting exports, industry insiders said. "Taking approvals from different regulatory bodies has only made the whole process cumbersome," the person cited above said. He noted that medicines are manufactured depending on the patient population construct. Live Events For example, Dolo and other paracetamol tablets are approved in India in strengths of 325mg, 500 mg and 650 mg while in Nigeria, it's approved for a strength of 1,000 mg. To manufacture and export that, Indian drugmakers now require an NOC from Nigerian authorities. The lobby groups have urged the government to review the provision as, according to them, this would divert trade to other nations with less stringent regulations. "Such a condition has imposed an undue burden on Indian exporters, potentially stifling innovation and hindering the export of unapproved/banned products especially for the MSME pharmaceutical sector, which is under tremendous strain with respect to compliance to domestic and international guidelines and trade barriers (tariffs & non-tariffs),' an industry expert said on condition of anonymity. The Niti Aayog had called pharma experts to undertake an analysis of the current state of the industry, to understand the challenges faced by drugmakers and initiatives taken by them to ensure production of safe and effective products. Nikkhil K Masurkar, chief executive of Entod Pharmaceuticals, said the official think tank's call for a quality overhaul is both "timely and necessary." "While India has made remarkable strides as a global pharma hub, maintaining consistent, internationally acceptable quality standards remains a key challenge, especially among MSME companies," he said. "The root of the problem often lies not in intent, but in outdated infrastructure, fragmented regulatory enforcement, and insufficient technical training," Masurkar said. "To produce world-class medicines, we must invest in continuous quality improvement, digitalise compliance systems, and empower our MSME sector with both financial and technical support."
