Foreign investors have withdrawn more than $20 billion from Indian equities in the first four months of 2026, already exceeding the record annual outflow seen in all of 2025. The pace of selling marks a sharp acceleration in foreign exit from Indian markets. The trigger is an oil price spike driven by the war involving Iran. India imports a large share of its crude oil, making it especially exposed when global oil prices rise sharply. Higher oil costs widen India's trade deficit, pressure the rupee, and raise inflation risks, all of which reduce the appeal of Indian assets to foreign investors. The selloff reflects a broader reassessment of emerging market risk when energy prices surge. India, as one of the world's largest crude importers, tends to bear outsized pain in oil shocks compared to energy-exporting peers in Asia and the Gulf. Watch for whether oil prices stabilize or climb further. Sustained high prices could deepen outflows, pressure the Reserve Bank of India on currency and rates, and weigh on corporate margins in energy-intensive sectors.
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.
