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Good morning. Just a quick word of advice - if you ever plan to use Amitabh Bachchan, Morgan Freeman or even Scarlett Johansson’s voice for any of your products or films, it is best to get their written permission first. It could be awkward (and costly) otherwise.

For more context, please scroll down to the bite-sized summaries.

- Ruchrngd Sharma & Shatakshi Sharma  

📊 Markets

🇮🇳 India

• Tuesday's equity indices ended mixed. The NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.12% to 22,529.05, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.63% to 73,953.31. Broader indices were positive, led by large-cap and mid-cap stocks. The Bank Nifty index dropped 0.31% to 48,048.20. PSU Banks and Metal stocks outperformed, while FMCG and large-cap Bank stocks fell.

🌍️ International

• US stocks rose on Tuesday, hitting record highs for the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500. Investors are awaiting Nvidia's upcoming earnings report, which is expected to significantly affect its share price and market sentiment. Retail earnings insights and Fed officials' comments on inflation and rate cuts also influenced the market.

📱 Super apps are all the rage

Traditional financial services companies are catching the super app bug, with companies like Aditya Birla Capital, Angel One, and Muthoot Fincorp building one-stop apps offering a range of financial products and services under one roof.

What’s a super app? Simply put, it is a mobile application that combines multiple services such as messaging, social media, payments, e-commerce, ride-hailing, etc., into a single unified platform, aiming to become an all-encompassing digital hub for users.

Why is this becoming a trend? 

• This move mirrors large conglomerates like Reliance and Tata, which have already rolled out super apps for shopping, payments, credit, and more. Financial services firms are executing this diversification through acquisitions, partnerships with fintechs, or building their platforms.

• For instance, Aditya Birla Capital launched an omnichannel platform offering 22 products like UPI payments, loans, insurance, and investments. It aims for 30 million users in 3 years. 

• Muthoot Fincorp One provides MSME/gold loans, investments like digital gold/NCDs, insurance, and bill payments - showing promising 600k+ monthly active users. Angel One is adding consumer credit and fixed-income products to its trading/investing super app.

Overall: While convenient for customers, navigating the complex financial regulations across sectors is a challenge for these super apps. However, firms view regulation as an "empowerment" defining their operating boundaries in consumer interests.

As consumer preferences shift towards integrated financial experiences, traditional players are transforming into fintech super apps to increase customer stickiness and lifetime value.

Read more: Economic Times

💰️ Indian markets are booming

Indian stock markets made history yesterday by crossing the $5T market capitalisation mark for the first time in intraday trade. 

The combined market cap of all BSE-listed firms touched this milestone in just six months after crossing $4T in November 2023, driven by a pre-election rally and strong Q4 corporate earnings.

However, the celebrations were short-lived as benchmark indices witnessed a volatile session.

• The BSE Sensex ended marginally lower, while the Nifty managed to eke out modest gains. Cautious comments from US Fed officials and rising election-related volatility dented sentiment. The India VIX 'fear gauge' spiked to 22.3—the highest since February 2022.

• The mid-cap index hit a new high, but small-caps ended in the red. Metal stocks led gainers, while FMCG and IT were the top losers among sectors.

• Market experts warned that volatility is likely to remain elevated in the run-up to the election results on June 4th. They advised traders to book profits regularly and monitor global cues closely.

Overall: With the $5T market cap milestone achieved, all eyes are now on the high-stakes general election verdict. The outcome will likely dictate the market's direction over the next few weeks.

Read more: Business Standard

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

🤖 AI training is in full play - JP Morgan Chase is making AI training mandatory for all new hires in its asset- and wealth-management division. Mary Erdoes, who runs that unit, said the training will focus on prompt engineering to prepare employees for working with AI systems. She noted that AI is already saving time and boosting revenue in the division by enabling bankers to quickly retrieve client information and automating repetitive tasks, freeing up analysts for 2-4 hours per day. According to executives, JPMorgan sees AI providing between $1-1.5B in potential value and having a "very, very large impact" across 140,000 employees in tech, operations, and customer service roles.

😡 ScarJo is not a happy camper - Scarlett Johansson revealed she was "shocked and angered" when she heard OpenAI's new AI voice called "Sky" sounded eerily similar to her voice, despite previously declining OpenAI's offer to lend her voice to the ChatGPT system. Johansson said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had reached out about having her voice the AI to help bridge the gap between tech and creatives, but she declined for personal reasons. After the "Sky" voice debuted with OpenAI's GPT-4o, drawing comparisons to Johansson, she hired legal counsel and OpenAI reluctantly agreed to remove the voice. The incident raises concerns about voice imitation technology, deepfakes, and protecting individuals' likenesses as AI capabilities rapidly advance.

🪙 Is crypto…back? Venture capital funding in the cryptocurrency industry rose for a second straight quarter, reaching $2.4B across 518 deals in the first three months of 2024, according to data from PitchBook. This 40.3% increase from the prior quarter came despite an overall drop in global VC investments to nearly a five-year low during the same period. The funding surge was driven by expectations of lower interest rates and the recent debut of the first U.S. bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds from major firms like BlackRock and Fidelity, which boosted institutional adoption and legitimacy for crypto assets. Startups building blockchain infrastructure led the way in fundraising, with deals becoming highly competitive, especially in early-stage investing.

✈️ Turbulence - A Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore encountered severe turbulence over Myanmar, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok on Tuesday. One 73-year-old British passenger died of a suspected heart attack, while 30 others were injured, seven critically, when the turbulence flung passengers and crew around the cabin. The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft hit an air pocket while the cabin crew were serving breakfast, causing a dramatic drop that slammed some people's heads into the overhead compartments, leaving large gashes in the panels. Singapore Airlines expressed condolences and apologized, while authorities are investigating the rare incident that appears to have involved the plane sharply tilting up and down over a short period based on flight data.

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

• Glenmark, BeiGene team up to introduce advanced cancer therapies in India.

• Nishant Pitti-led EaseMyTrip to join govt-backed ONDC network.

• How iconic Indian snack brand Haldiram's became a global investment target.

• India on cusp of long-awaited economic take-off: RBI.

• India's travel & tourism rank jumps to 39.

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• KKR beat SRH by 8 wickets. Top 4 in order are KKR, SRH, RR and RCB - IPL leaderboard here.

• Andy Murray, Geneva Open’s wildcard entry, gets defeated by Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 4-1 and 6-2.

• Jaismine Lamboria to compete in Olympic qualifiers' 57kg category after Parveen Hooda's international suspension.

• Xander Schauffele wins his first PGA championship awith a final-round 65 and a record of 21-under-par 263.

• Bridgerton Season 3 Has Biggest Debut Weekend in Series History, Hitting 45.1 Million Views.

• John Krasinski's 'IF' starring Ryan Reynolds has a $55M debut at global box office - reviews are mixed.