Life Insurance Corporation of India shares jumped more than 5% on Wednesday after the state-owned insurer announced its first-ever 1:1 bonus issue, entitling each shareholder to one additional share for every share currently held. The announcement marks a notable event for LIC, which listed on Indian exchanges in 2022 and has not issued bonus shares since. The bonus issue is structured as a capitalisation of reserves, converting accumulated surplus on the balance sheet into paid-up equity capital rather than distributing cash. Subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, LIC said the new shares will be credited within two months of board approval, with a deadline of June 12, 2026. For existing shareholders, the mechanism doubles their share count while proportionally adjusting the per-share price, leaving total holding value unchanged at issuance. The practical effect is improved stock liquidity through a lower nominal price per share. Investors will now watch for the formal approval timeline and any corresponding guidance on dividend policy, given that a larger share base affects per-share payout calculations going forward.
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.
