The Indian rupee hit a record low on Thursday, pressured by a combination of rising crude oil prices and weakening capital flows into India. Crude has surged back to 2022 highs, a serious problem for India, which imports most of its energy needs and must pay for that oil in dollars. The more expensive oil gets, the larger India's import bill, which widens the current account deficit and pulls the rupee lower. The Reserve Bank of India now faces a harder balancing act. If it raises interest rates to defend the rupee and contain imported inflation, it risks slowing economic growth. If it holds rates steady, the currency may weaken further and push prices higher. RBI has historically intervened in forex markets by selling dollars to slow sharp rupee declines, so further intervention is likely being weighed. Investors will watch crude price direction, RBI's next policy signals, and capital flow data closely.
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.
