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Beyond the securities market, the proposed Securities Markets Code (SMC) Bill could set a model for regulatory governance across wider financial and administrative sectors, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26. "If implemented in both letter and spirit, it could restore and strengthen trust among regulators, market participants, and investors," the Survey, which was tabled in Parliament on Thursday, noted. The Code spans subjects such as board composition, independence, conflict management, transparency, regulatory sandboxing, investor protection, governance of market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), and ease of doing business. These reforms can be categorised into three main clusters -- mechanisms for the delivery of services, regulatory governance and Market Infrastructure Institutions. The SMC Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December, seeks to consolidate, rationalise and replace three existing securities laws -- the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, .
Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday after US stock indexes ticked upward, buoyed by strong profit reports for some companies. The price of gold slipped back from its record, edging 0.2 per cent lower to USD 5,071.70. Silver lost 5.1 per cent to USD 109.66 per ounce. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.6 per cent to 53,188.39. The Kospi in South Korea surged 1.9 per cent to 5,042.32 even after US President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on South Korean goods because the country's national assembly has yet to approve a trade framework announced last year. Trump said on social media Monday that import taxes would be raised on autos, lumber and pharmaceutical drugs from South Korea with the rate on other goods going from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. Gains for tech-related shares like Samsung Electronics, which rose 2.9 per cent, helped offset losses for automakers like Kia Corp., which fell 2 per cent. Chinese markets were mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.1 per cent t