Times India

• India will launch its first-ever Index of Services Production (ISP) in July to accurately measure the output of the country's critical services sector. • The new index is designed to track short-term shifts in services production, complementing the existing Index of Industrial Production (IIP). • This initiative matters because it fills a significant data gap in India's economic dashboard, providing a more comprehensive pulse of the overall economy.

• Asian markets traded higher on Friday, led by Japan's Nikkei 225 which surged more than 2 per cent and Taiwan's market which climbed nearly 1.5 per cent. • The rally was driven by improved investor sentiment following hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in peace talks between the US and Iran. • Despite the gains, markets remain cautious due to rising oil prices and instability in the Strait of Hormuz, which continue to fuel inflation worries.

• GIFT Nifty indicates a positive start for the BSE Sensex and Nifty50 as they enter the final trading session of the week this Friday. • The market is currently navigating volatility driven by high crude oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran conflict. • Market analysts emphasize that the indices must sustain positions above key resistance levels to confirm a broader, stronger recovery trend.

• India is set to launch its first-ever Index of Services Production (ISP) around July to track short-term production movements in the services sector. • The ISP will complement a new Index of Industrial Production (IIP) series, which is scheduled for release on June 1 using a revised base year of 2022-23. • This initiative is critical because the services sector now contributes more than half of India's GDP and serves as a primary driver for millions of jobs.

• US stocks trended higher on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, with the S&P 500 rising 0.3% in early trade to approach its previous record high. • The market recovery was driven by easing pressure in the bond market through lower Treasury yields and a series of stronger-than-expected corporate earnings reports. • This shift in sentiment is significant as it marks a potential reversal after the market experienced four consecutive sessions of losses.

• Indian cybersecurity companies are deploying in-house AI agents built on large language models to combat threats. • These AI agents reduce software vulnerability detection and remediation times from days to hours. • The acceleration matches attackers' machine-speed operations, where human response windows shrink to near zero.