Top News on July 26: Sensex rebounds, Obamas endorse Kamala Harris, France railway network suffers major attack and more

The stock market rebounded on Friday to snap a five-day losing streak after the Budget announcements — registering their best weekly gains in the last 14 years. Meanwhile the US Presidential elections took yet another turn with the Obamas endorsing Kamala Harris' White House bid. The Paris Olympics also got off to a rocky start on Friday as unidentified saboteurs struck France's train network in a series of pre-dawn attacks and triggered chaos ahead of the Opening Ceremony.

Here are the top stories on July 26:

Stock market rebounds

Sensex and Nifty 50 logged their best session in seven weeks today — driven by heavy value-buying at lower levels and a recovery rally in blue-chips such as Infosys, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries amid positive global cues. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,292.92 points or 1.62 per cent to settle at 81,332.72. During the day, it soared 1,387.38 points or 1.73 per cent to 81,427.18. The NSE Nifty surged 428.75 points or 1.76 per cent to settle at an all-time closing high of 24,834.85. Nifty 50 had hit a record high in the final minute of the trading session.

Obamas endorse Kamala Harris

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama backed Vice President Kamala Harris for the top post on Friday — further cementing her chances of securing the Democratic presidential nomination. The development came even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the US and met with Harris on Friday amid ongoing negotiations to end the Israel-Hamas war and recover hostages held in Gaza.

French railways attacked ahead of Paris Olympics

A series of coordinated arson attacks led to cancellations and delays across the French rail network on Friday with tens of thousands of passengers stuck while trying to visit Paris for the Games or vacations. Outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the saboteurs had targeted the three main routes to the capital city with a clear objective to “blocking the high speed train network”. The top official also told reporters that there would be “huge and serious consequences for the rail network”. Around 800,000 passengers are expected to be affected over the weekend as the damage is heavy and labour-intensive to repair.

Forex reserves hit fresh record high

Data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday indicated that foreign exchange reserves have touched another record high. Foreign currency assets — a major component of the reserves — increased by $2.578 billion to $588.048 billion during the week that ended on July 19. The previous high was recorded last week when overall reserves jumped by $9.699 billion to $666.854 billion.

(With inputs from agencies)