ET NEWS

Larry Ellison briefly overtook Elon Musk as the world’s richest man on Wednesday after a historic rally in Oracle Corp shares added $244 billion to the software giant’s market value. The surge pushed Oracle closer to the $1 trillion mark and fueled speculation over whether it could soon displace Tesla Inc among the world’s 10 most valuable companies.Oracle shares soared as much as 43% during intraday trading before closing 36% higher—the company’s biggest one-day jump since 1992. The rally followed a bullish forecast projecting Oracle’s cloud infrastructure revenue to grow from $10.3 billion in fiscal 2025 to $144 billion by 2030. The gains drove Oracle’s market capitalization to $922 billion, placing it 12th among the world’s most valuable firms.The surge added $88.5 billion to Ellison’s wealth in a single day—the largest one-day fortune increase ever recorded, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. At one point, Ellison’s net worth rose to $393 billion, briefly topping Musk’s $384 billion, before settling at $383 billion by market close. Musk regained the lead with $384 billion, while Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg followed in third at $264 billion.Big cloud betsOracle’s momentum was fueled by blockbuster deals in the artificial intelligence arms race. Chief Executive Safra Catz told analysts the company signed four multi-billion-dollar contracts in its fiscal first quarter, boosting contracted but unrecognized revenue to $455 billion—four times last year’s level.On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI agreed to purchase $300 billion worth of computing power from Oracle over five years—one of the largest cloud contracts ever signed. Oracle also counts xAI, Meta, Nvidia, and AMD among its AI customers.Bank of America analysts upgraded Oracle stock to “buy” from “neutral,” citing its “exceptional backlog” and calling the company “a key AI enabler.”Musk’s Tesla under pressureThe reshuffling at the top of the billionaire rankings comes as Musk’s wealth faces pressure from a 12% drop in Tesla shares this year, driven by weak demand and political fallout. Tesla remains the 10th most valuable company with a market capitalization of $1.1 trillion, just ahead of Berkshire Hathaway at $1.06 trillion.If Oracle sustains its momentum, it could soon challenge Tesla for a spot in the global top 10. “The bullish outlook has launched Oracle firmly into the elite group of cloud-computing titans battling it out in the race for AI supremacy,” Catz said Tuesday in an earnings call.The stakes aheadThe world’s most valuable companies remain dominated by tech heavyweights, led by Nvidia at $4.3 trillion, Microsoft at $3.6 trillion, Apple at $3.3 trillion, and Alphabet at $2.8 trillion. Amazon follows at $2.5 trillion, Meta at $1.9 trillion, Broadcom at $1.8 trillion, Saudi Aramco at $1.5 trillion, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co at $1.4 trillion.Near the $1 trillion threshold, Tesla at $1.1 trillion and Berkshire Hathaway at $1.06 trillion are vulnerable to being overtaken if Oracle’s rally continues. With a market cap of $922 billion, Oracle is now within striking distance of joining the elite group.For Ellison, the rally highlights a long journey from database pioneer to potential AI superpower. For Musk, it underscores how even the world’s richest man is not immune to market shifts.Also read | Oracle's $244 billion single-day rally as big as entire IT trinity of TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Gold prices on MCX, ahead of the US inflation data, continued to witness profit booking for the second session. Gold October futures contracts were trading lower by Rs 311 or 0.29% at Rs 1,08,675/10 grams around 9:30 am.Silver December futures on the MCX were also trading slightly weak at Rs 1,25,026/kg. This was down by Rs 154 or 0.12%..On Wednesday, gold and silver settled on a mixed note in the domestic and international markets. Gold October futures contract settled at Rs 1,08,986 per 10 grams with a loss of 0.04% while silver December futures contract settled at Rs 1,25,180 per kilogram with a gain of 0.58%.Gold and silver traded steadily and settled on a mixed note after the U.S. PPI data cooled off more than expected. The U.S. PPI unexpectedly fell by 0.1% in August, after it was downwardly revised by 0.7% in July and well below the expected gain of 0.3%.On a yearly basis, PPI rose 2.6% in August against a July reading of 3.1% and well below the expected reading of 3.3%.“Cool-off in the U.S. PPI data supported gold and silver prices, but the market is broadly waiting for the CPI data which will be further directional for both precious metals. Geo-political tensions, central banks buying, and Fed rate cut hopes are supporting prices of gold and silver,” said Manoj Kumar Jain of Prithvifinmart Commodity Research.Today, the US Dollar Index, DXY, was hovering near the 97.82 mark, gaining 0.04%.“We expect gold and silver prices to remain volatile this week amid volatility in the dollar index, geopolitical tensions and ahead of the U.S. inflation data and gold is expected to trade in the range of $3,510-3,770 per troy ounce and silver is expected to trade in the range of $39.10-44.00 per troy ounce this week,” he added.Echoing the same sentiment, Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities, noted, “The U.S. PPI unexpectedly contracted by 0.1% in August. Cool-off in the U.S. PPI data supported gold and silver prices, but the market is broadly waiting for the CPI data which will be further directional for both precious metals. Geopolitical tensions, central banks buying, and Fed rate cut hopes are supporting prices of gold and silver.”How to trade gold?Manoj Kumar Jain suggested the following ranges for gold and silver on MCX:Gold has support at Rs 1,08,550-1,08,000 and resistance at Rs 1,09,440-1,10,000Silver has support at Rs 1,24,400-1,23,500 and resistance at Rs 1,26,300-1,27,000Jain suggests booking profits in long positions of gold ahead of the U.S. inflation data and also suggests buying silver around Rs 1,24,600 with a stop loss below Rs 1,23,500 for a target of Rs 1,25,700-1,26,600.Gold rates in physical marketsGold Price today in DelhiStandard gold (22 carat) prices in Delhi stand at Rs 58,192/8 grams while pure gold (24 carat) prices stand at Rs 62,104/8 grams.Gold Price today in MumbaiStandard gold (22 carat) prices in Mumbai stand at Rs 57,536/8 grams while pure gold (24 carat) prices stand at Rs 61,304/8 grams.Gold Price today in ChennaiStandard gold (22 carat) prices in Chennai stand at Rs 56,976/8 grams while pure gold (24 carat) prices stand at Rs 60,704/8 grams.Gold Price today in HyderabadStandard gold (22 carat) prices in Hyderabad stand at Rs 56,992/8 grams while pure gold (24 carat) prices stand at Rs 60,768/8 grams.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Thailand has simplified its Non-Immigrant visa system by reducing the number of categories from 17 to seven, effective August 31, 2025. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Department of Consular Affairs, announced that the change aims to simplify the framework, remove duplication, and make application processing more efficient, as reported by Fragomen. According to the ministry, this restructuring does not change the eligibility rules or affect the rights of applicants. Instead, it reorganises existing categories into broader groups. Applications must now be filed under one of the following: F (Official); B (Business), which merges B, B-A, IM, IB and EX; ED (Education), which combines ED, ED-A, R, R-A and RS; M (Mass Media); O (Others), merging O, O-A and O-X; L-A (Labour); or O L-A. The move is intended to cut complexity in Thailand’s visa system, which previously had overlapping classifications. By consolidating related categories, the authorities expect to make the process clearer for applicants while maintaining existing rights and conditions. Officials said the restructuring marks an administrative adjustment, not a policy shift. The focus is on improving efficiency and reducing confusion among foreign nationals applying for entry into Thailand under Non-Immigrant visas.