Wall Street closed at fresh records on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both finishing at all-time highs. The rally was led by technology and semiconductor stocks, with Intel shares surging and pulling the broader chip sector higher. Hopes that the US and Iran may enter peace talks added to investor optimism, easing concerns about Middle East-linked supply disruptions. Indian markets followed the positive mood higher. Two distinct forces drove the session: sector strength from corporate earnings beats and a geopolitical tailwind from the Iran talk reports. Strong earnings across several companies gave investors confidence that profit growth remains intact even as borrowing costs stay high. The Federal Reserve's next policy meeting is now the key event on traders' calendars. Markets want clarity on when, or whether, the Fed will cut interest rates. Any signal of earlier cuts would likely boost equities further, while a hawkish tone could pull back some of the recent gains. For Indian markets, a record Wall Street close typically supports foreign investor appetite for emerging market equities, making the Fed's guidance especially relevant for near-term flows into Indian stocks.
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.
