Inside India newsletter: Why Taiwan and South Korea's stock markets have surged past India within a week

Hello, this is Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to the latest edition of " Inside India " — your one-stop destination for stories and developments from the world's fastest-growing large economy. AI-driven gains in TSMC, Samsung and SK Hynix, plus a weaker rupee and headwinds from the Middle East conflict are reshaping Asia's market rankings. This week, I explore how the AI theme is outshining India's consumption story. Read on! Any thoughts on today's newsletter? Share them with the team. The big story In 2026, animal spirits are driving investments in artificial intelligence firms, valuing stocks such as TSMC , Samsung and SK Hynix at over a trillion dollars. For the world's fastest-growing major economy, India — which has no large-scale AI play — this is bad news, especially at a time when its highly sought-after domestic consumption story is cracking, according to experts CNBC spoke to. Households are facing higher inflation , weaker currency , and a slowdown in quality job creation . This decline in consumer spending and an increase in input costs due to the conflict in the Middle East is also expected to slow down corporate earnings in the financial year ending March 2027, the experts said, adding that it is making foreign investors even more eager to exit. Foreign investors have sold Indian equities worth $27.6 billion since January, compared with a total of $18.9 billion in 2025, per data from the Indian depository NSDL. …