The Indian rupee strengthened on Friday after Reuters reported that the Reserve Bank of India directed state-run oil companies to limit their dollar purchases, a targeted intervention aimed at reducing structural demand pressure on the currency. Oil companies are among the largest and most consistent buyers of dollars in the Indian foreign exchange market, making their demand a reliable lever for the RBI when the rupee comes under stress. By restricting that channel, the central bank effectively tightened dollar supply conditions without deploying foreign exchange reserves directly. The move builds on a package of measures the RBI has introduced over the past two weeks, which have collectively narrowed the rupee's underperformance relative to other Asian currencies. Traders will now watch whether the currency's recovery holds absent continued intervention, and whether RBI sustains the restrictions on oil company dollar demand or allows normal purchasing to resume as pressure eases.
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.
