U.S. equity markets surged Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing roughly 900 points, as Iran stated the Strait of Hormuz remains "completely open," easing fears of a supply disruption that had rattled energy and financial markets. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both posted significant gains alongside the Dow, reflecting broad-based relief buying across sectors. The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most critical oil transit chokepoint, through which approximately 20% of global petroleum supply flows daily. Any credible threat to that passage typically transmits rapidly into crude prices, inflation expectations, and risk asset valuations, which explains the scale of Monday's reversal. Iran's public assurance that the waterway is unimpeded removed a near-term tail risk that markets had priced in during recent sessions. Investors will now watch whether Iran's statement holds against any escalatory developments in the region, and whether crude oil futures, which had spiked on supply disruption concerns, fully retreat from recent elevated levels.
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.
