The US Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady at 3.5%, 3.75% for the third consecutive meeting, with the Federal Open Market Committee voting 8-4 to maintain the current range. The April meeting ended without updated economic projections, and the Fed flagged that inflation remains elevated. The split vote, four dissents, signals growing internal disagreement about the path forward. A hold without projections gives the Fed room to stay flexible rather than commit to a clear next move. For Indian markets, a steady US rate environment reduces immediate pressure on the rupee and limits capital outflows that typically follow US rate hikes. Foreign investors tend to pull money from emerging markets like India when US rates rise, since higher yields in America make dollar assets more attractive. With rates on hold, that pressure eases for now. Watch for any shift in Fed language around inflation or labor markets, as that will signal whether a rate cut or another hold is more likely at the next meeting.
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.
