The Indian rupee closed at a record low of 84.85 against the US dollar on Wednesday, marking its weakest-ever closing level. Two forces drove the move: rising global oil prices, as diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iran conflict showed no progress, and continued foreign investor selling of Indian stocks and bonds. India imports roughly 85% of its oil, so higher crude prices directly widen the current account deficit and increase demand for dollars, putting mechanical pressure on the rupee. Foreign outflows compound this by adding more dollar demand as investors convert rupee-denominated assets into foreign currency. A weaker rupee raises the cost of all dollar-priced imports, including crude, which can feed back into fuel and consumer prices domestically. Markets will watch whether the Reserve Bank of India intervenes to slow the slide and whether oil prices stabilise as the primary trigger for further pressure.
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.
