Brent crude futures surged 7.05% to $101.91 a barrel in early Monday trading after the United States announced a maritime blockade on Iran, reversing Friday's 0.75% decline in a single session. The move pushed the global benchmark back above the $100 threshold, a psychologically and technically significant level for energy markets and inflation-sensitive asset classes. A US maritime blockade on Iran directly threatens Persian Gulf shipping lanes, through which a substantial share of global crude supply transits. Supply disruption risk, rather than an actual output cut, is driving the repricing, markets are pricing in the probability that Iranian oil flows, already constrained by sanctions, face a further hard ceiling. Energy equities, refining margins, and inflation swap rates will move in tandem if the $100 level holds. Analysts and traders will watch whether allied naval positioning escalates, whether OPEC spare capacity commitments are accelerated, and whether the IEA or member states signal strategic reserve releases to cap the move.
Indian startups raised $5.2 billion across 501 deals in H1 2026, down 9% in value but up 7% in deal count year-on-year, per the Inc42 Indian Tech Startup Funding Report. The drop is driven by fewer mega-rounds, while AI funding surged 317% and growth-stage deal activity hit a multi-year high.
The BSE Sensex fell 893 points and the Nifty 50 shed 279 points on June 30, 2026, wiping out roughly Rs 6 lakh crore in investor wealth in a single session. Both indices dropped 1.16%, closing at 76,200.68 and 23,824.10 respectively.
Kotak Mahindra Bank shares fell nearly 3% to Rs 397.6 after CEO Ashok Vaswani announced plans to exit the bank. Investor concern now centres on succession timing and whether the bank's ongoing digital and deposit-growth strategy will stay on track.
South Korea's Kospi dropped 3% at Monday's open while Japan's Nikkei fell 1%, as escalating US-Iran conflict triggered a broad risk-off move across Asian markets. South Korea's heavy reliance on Middle East oil imports makes it especially vulnerable to geopolitical shocks of this kind.
