US stocks stay supported
The US stocks edged up in last session as broad focus stayed on trade talks. The Nasdaq climbed 128.85 points or 0.7 percent at 19,242.61, the S&P 500 rose 24.25 points or 0.4 percent to 5,935.94 and the Dow added 35.41 points or 0.1 percent to 42,305.38. Economic cues were tepid as the ISM said its manufacturing PMI eased to 48.5 in May from 48.7 in April, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. With the decline, the manufacturing PMI dipped to its lowest level hitting 48.4 in November 2024. Meanwhile, the US Fed Chair Jerome Powell failed to comment on the US economic outlook amid market uncertainty due to Trump tariffs.
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Business Standard
17 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Benchmarks trade with decent gains; PSU bank shares drop
The domestic equity indices continued to trade with modest gains in mid-afternoon trade, supported by positive global sentiment, expectations of a rate cut in the upcoming RBI policy meeting later this week, and sustained foreign fund inflows. While investors await the policy outcome, they are also closely monitoring bond markets, Brent crude trends, and global trade developments. The Nifty traded above the 24,700 level. The market is volatile due to the monthly expiry of the Nifty F&O series today. PSU bank stocks slip after previous session's gains. At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 380.63 points or 0.46% to 81,377.14. The Nifty 50 index jumped 93.40 points or 0.39% to 24,713.60. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.32% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.64%. The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,301 shares rose and 1,616 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged. The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.14% to 15.25. Buzzing Index: The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 0.79% to 7,044.45. The index advanced in the past trading session. Bank of Baroda (down 2.23%), Canara Bank (down 0.95%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 0.94%), UCO Bank (down 0.91%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 0.87%), Bank of India (down 0.87%), Union Bank of India (down 0.84%), Indian Bank (down 0.84%), Punjab National Bank (down 0.83%) and Punjab & Sind Bank (down 0.52%) advanced. Numbers to Track: The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.21% to 6.199 from the previous close of 6.211. In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.7700 compared with its close of 85.8700 during the previous trading session. MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2025 settlement shed 0.05% to Rs 98,528. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.06% to 98.88. The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.09% to 4.358. In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2025 settlement rose 30 cents or 0.46% to $65.16 a barrel. Stock in Spotlight: Man Industries (India) rose 1.03% after the company announced that it had secured a new export order worth Rs 1,150 crore from an international customer for the supply of various types of pipes.
Economic Times
17 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth confident NATO will commit to Trump's defence spending target
Pete Hegseth confident NATO will commit to Trump's defence spending target Synopsis NATO countries are in talks about raising their defence budgets. US wants members to spend 5% of their GDP on defence. The goal is to strengthen the alliance. Mark Rutte suggests a 3.5% defence spend and 1.5% on security. New targets for troops and weapons are expected. Germany may need more soldiers. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday he was confident that members of the NATO alliance would sign up to Donald Trump's demand for a major boost in defence spending, adding that it had to happen by a summit later in June. ADVERTISEMENT The U.S. president has said NATO allies should boost investment in defence to 5% of gross domestic product, up from the current target of 2%. "To be an alliance, you got to be more than flags. You got to be formations. You got to be more than conferences," Hegseth said as he arrived at a gathering of NATO defence ministers in Brussels. "We're here to continue the work that President Trump started, which is a commitment to 5% defence spending across this alliance, which we think will happen," Hegseth said, adding: "It has to happen by the summit at The Hague later this month." Diplomats have said European allies understand that hiking defence expenditure is the price of ensuring a continued U.S. commitment to the continent's security and that keeping the U.S. on board means allowing Trump to be able to declare a win on his 5% demand during the summit, scheduled for June 24-25. "That will be a considerable extra investment," NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters, predicting that in the Hague summit "we will decide on a much higher spending target for all the nations in NATO." ADVERTISEMENT In a bid to meet Trump's 5% goal, Rutte has proposed alliance members boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending, Reuters has reported. Details of the new investment plan will likely continue to be negotiated until the eve of the NATO summit. ADVERTISEMENT CAPABILITY TARGETS In the meantime, Rutte said he expects allies to agree on Thursday on what he called "historic" new capability targets. ADVERTISEMENT The targets, which define how many troops and weapons and how much ammunition a country needs to provide to NATO, would aim to better balance defence contributions between Europe, Canada, and the United States and "make NATO a stronger, fairer and a more lethal alliance", he said in opening remarks to the meeting. Germany will need around 50,000 to 60,000 additional active troops under the new NATO targets, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said as he arrived at the NATO meeting. ADVERTISEMENT Countries remain divided over the timeline for new pledges. Rutte has proposed reaching the 5% defence target by 2032 - a date that some eastern European states consider too distant but which some others see as too early, given current spending and industrial production levels. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said that to meet the capability targets, "we need to agree on the 5% in five years. We don't have time for 10 years, we don't have time even for seven years." Sweden would also like to see NATO reaching 5% defence spending in 2030, Defence Minister Pal Jonson told reporters. There is an ongoing debate over how to define "defence-related" spending, which might include spending on cybersecurity and certain types of infrastructure. "The aim is to find a definition that is precise enough to cover only real security-related investments, and at the same time broad enough to allow for national specifics," said one NATO diplomat. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online. NEXT STORY
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
Amid Trump threat, why universities in UAE is a great destination for Indian and foreign students
As Trump tightens the gates, the Gulf opens its arms In the new geopolitical reality of 2025, the world of international education has been turned on its head. For decades, students across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East saw the US as the gold standard—a place where opportunity, diversity, and academic freedom converged. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now That illusion has shattered. Within hours of taking office for his second term, Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders suspending large categories of international student visas, beginning with a highly symbolic ban on new foreign admissions to Harvard, citing 'national security' concerns. In the US today, education policy has become a weapon of ideology. Entry is no longer based on merit but on whether your passport aligns with America's current geopolitical mood. In such a scenario, a new contender has quietly risen: the United Arab Emirates. The Rise of the Gulf Campus Once known more for its oil and shopping malls than its academic prowess, the UAE is undergoing a transformation. With massive investments in education, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and a globally competitive mindset, the Emirates are positioning themselves as a genuine alternative to the West. And they're not just building campuses—they're building credibility. Universities like Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, and Abu Dhabi University have surged up global rankings. Khalifa now ranks among the top 250 globally, rivalling established institutions in Europe. NYU Abu Dhabi, a satellite of New York University, routinely ranks among the top 30 in the world, offering Ivy League-quality education with a view of the Gulf. Read: UAE Golden Visa: What's on Offer? Pretty much everything. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now From aerospace engineering to artificial intelligence, architecture to art history, the UAE's universities offer degrees across the spectrum. STEM students will find top-notch labs and partnerships with tech firms. Business students can tap into one of the world's leading financial hubs. Liberal arts majors can attend global campuses like NYUAD or the American University of Sharjah, which combine Western pedagogy with a truly international student body. And crucially, all of it is taught in English. The Benefits The UAE is ticking boxes that students and parents alike care about—many of which the West can no longer promise. Safety In an increasingly volatile world, the UAE remains one of the safest countries on the planet. Low crime rates, high-tech surveillance, and strict laws mean students can walk around major cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi late into the night without fear. Affordability Compared to the eye-watering tuition fees in the US, UK or Australia, UAE education offers value. Public university fees hover around $8,000–14,000 a year, with private institutions going up to $30,000—still far lower than US equivalents. And there are scholarships. Lots of them. Many UAE universities offer generous merit-based and government-backed scholarships to attract global talent. Infrastructure Let's be honest: Dubai and Abu Dhabi look like cities from the future. Ultra-modern campuses, smart classrooms, well-equipped libraries, cutting-edge research labs, and reliable Wi-Fi aren't just perks—they're the norm. Cultural Diversity Walk into a lecture hall at the University of Sharjah or American University in Dubai and you might see students from 70 countries. Indians, Nigerians, Egyptians, Russians, Filipinos, and French—you'll find them all here. The multicultural mix on UAE campuses offers something increasingly rare in the world: global camaraderie. Location, Location, Location Want to be close to India but still part of the global network? Want a springboard to Europe, Asia, or Africa? Dubai is six hours from London, three from Mumbai, and a direct flight to almost every major hub. The UAE is a geographic sweet spot. Campus Life: More Than Just Books UAE universities are not just about academics. They offer thriving campus cultures—student clubs, sports tournaments, cultural fests, innovation challenges, and start-up incubators. From debating societies to AI hackathons, students have the freedom to do more than just study. And with world-class malls, beaches, and cultural festivals nearby, weekend boredom isn't really a thing. Global Partnerships and Dual Degrees Many UAE institutions have partnered with US, UK, French and Australian universities. This means students can get dual degrees, split semesters across continents, or even spend a year abroad while still being based in the UAE. Think: a degree that starts in Dubai, hops to Paris, and finishes in Boston—without losing credits or time. Universities like Sorbonne Abu Dhabi (yes, that Sorbonne), Heriot-Watt Dubai (Scotland), and Murdoch University Dubai (Australia) give you degrees stamped by their home institutions but tailored for the Gulf market. So Who's It For? The UAE isn't just for the elite or the Gulf-savvy. It's for the smart student who sees the writing on the wall. For the kid from Nairobi who got rejected from Stanford because of a passport. For the engineering whiz from Dhaka who doesn't want to gamble his future on a US visa interview. For the Indian student from Kerala who wants world-class education without spending a crore. The UAE is offering what the West once did—access, ambition, and academic rigour—without the politics or prejudice. Final Word In a world where education has become a geopolitical chess piece, the UAE has emerged not just as a safe square—but possibly the new centre of the board. It's time students stopped thinking of the Gulf as just a work destination. It's a learning destination now. And in many ways, it might be the smartest move you make.
