The Indian rupee posted the largest single-session gain among Asian currencies after reports emerged that domestic oil refiners have been directed to source their foreign exchange requirements through a dedicated credit line at the State Bank of India, rather than the open market. The move effectively removes one of the rupee's most persistent structural demand pressures: refiners are among India's largest buyers of dollars, given the country's heavy dependence on crude imports. By routing refiner forex demand through SBI, the arrangement reduces dollar purchases in the spot market, easing the supply-demand imbalance that has weighed on the rupee. The mechanism mirrors a playbook used in prior periods of currency stress, where state-owned banks act as intermediaries to manage orderly demand flow without direct Reserve Bank of India intervention optics. Traders will now watch whether the window is a short-term measure to stabilise the currency or a longer-standing arrangement, and whether RBI follows with additional liquidity support to keep the credit line adequately funded.
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.
