U.S. equities rallied Monday after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz 'completely open,' easing fears that Middle East tensions could disrupt a chokepoint responsible for roughly 20% of global oil flows. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones Industrial Average all moved higher on the news, reflecting how tightly energy security concerns had been weighing on sentiment. The Strait of Hormuz sits between Iran and Oman and serves as the primary export corridor for Gulf crude producers including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, and Kuwait. Any credible threat to its navigability typically triggers immediate oil price spikes and equity risk-off moves, so Iran's explicit reassurance functioned as a release valve for that pressure. The session's gains reflect how much geopolitical risk premium had built into markets. Investors will now watch whether oil prices retreat, how long the diplomatic signal holds, and whether broader Middle East tensions continue to stabilize or re-escalate in the coming sessions.
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.
