Shares of oil & gas companies, tyre, paint, and aviation firms were under pressure on Monday as oil prices continued to surge after US President Donald Trump issued a threat to impose sanctions on Iraq amid escalating tensions with Iran in the Middle East.

At 09:40 am, Brent crude futures were trading 2.70 per cent higher at 70.45 USD/bbl while WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) were trading at 64.54 USD/bbl, up over 2 per cent.

Banking counters, including Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, and Canara Bank slipped over 4 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the early deals on Monday as heightened tensions between the United States and Iran pushed bond yields higher in India.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday vowed major retaliation if Iran tried to avenge the death of its key military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by the US military on Friday.

Amid mounting tension in West Asia following the US strike that killed a top Iranian general in Iraq, Tehran on Sunday announced that it was abandoning its limits under the 2015 nuclear deal which is to restrict its nuclear activities.

By taking the fifth step in reducing its obligations, Iran is abandoning the last key practical limitation under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is dealing with the number of centrifuges, the Iranian government said in a statement.

Shares of Titan Company climbed 3 per cent to Rs 1,170 on the BSE on Monday in early morning deals after the company’s jewelry sales for the December quarter (Q3FY20) came in line with guidance, while others segment disappointed. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 1 per cent.

In the past eight trading days, the stock had underperformed the market by falling 6 per cent, as compared to a marginal 0.5 per cent decline in the benchmark index till Friday.

Iran warned of severe revenge and said arch-enemy the United States bore responsiblity for the consequences after killing one of its top commanders, Qasem Soleimani, in a strike Friday outside Baghdad airport.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed the commander of its Quds Force foreign operations arm had been killed by US forces in Baghdad, with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denouncing it as a dangerous escalation.

A Thane resident lost a little over Rs 1 lakh in an online fraud involving popular payment gateways, police said on Saturday. The complainant, a resident of Patlipada, wanted to sell his furniture and posted an ad on Facebook on December 21, an official said.

On December 24, he received a call from one Rajendra Sharma who offered to buy the furniture and wanted to transfer the amount through payment gateways — Paytm and Google Pay, he said.

The situation in Kota’s JK Lon Hospital, Rajasthan, continues to worsen as the death toll of infants has reached 107 on Saturday. The death toll climbed over a hundred since December last year at the hospital with seven deaths taking place in January 2020.

Lok Sabha Speaker & MP from Kota, Om Birla met the family members of one of the infants who died in JK Lon Hospital today.

The value of transactions made using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) channel crossed Rs 2 lakh crore in December after falling marginally month-on-month in November. The UPI recorded 1.3 billion transactions in December worth Rs 2.02 lakh crore, up from 1.22 billion transactions worth Rs 1.89 lakh crore in the previous month.

According to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), its Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app was used for making 17.82 million transactions worth Rs 6,316.37 crore. In other words, the app now contributes a mere 1.37% to UPI usage in volume terms.

Apple CEO Tim Cook salary in Indian rupees: Apple chief Tim Cook saw his annual payslip to $11.6 million (approx 83,24,27,600 at current dollar to rupee rate) in 2019 after the company registered a weaker financial performance compared with the previous year, according to documents filed Friday. His current year’s salary was down by $4.1 million (approx Rs 29,42,20,100) from the previous year.

Cook, who took home $15.7 million (approx 1,12,66,47,700 at current dollar to rupee rate) in 2018, is paid a base salary of $3 million, in addition to a bonus and various compensations.

Nearly 1,75,000 people remain displaced in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and nearby towns, after flash floods and landslides killed at least 53 people, amid some of the heaviest rain since records began, authorities said on Saturday.

The death toll has risen to 53 people, with one person missing, disaster mitigation agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said.

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