Indian equity markets opened sharply lower on Wednesday, with the Sensex falling 647 points to 76,849 and the Nifty 50 dropping 212 points to 23,965 within minutes of the open. Both indices slipped below key psychological levels, 77,000 on the Sensex and 24,000 on the Nifty, signalling broad-based selling pressure early in the session. Two forces are driving the decline: a crude oil price shock, which raises India's import bill and stokes inflation fears, and continued selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who have been pulling money out of Indian equities. When crude rises, it widens India's current account deficit and squeezes margins across fuel-sensitive sectors like aviation, paints, and logistics. FII outflows simultaneously drain rupee liquidity and add downward pressure on stock prices. Traders will watch whether Nifty holds the 23,900 support zone and whether FII selling activity eases through the session.
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.
