The S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulled back after touching intraday record highs, as early-session optimism gave way to a more cautious tone across Wall Street. Investors processed a new round of corporate earnings while monitoring developments in the Middle East, where signals of potential diplomatic engagement with Iran briefly lifted sentiment. The retreat suggests the prior rally phase lacked durable fundamental support, with analysts characterizing gains as sentiment-driven rather than anchored in hard economic data. Earnings flow added a layer of volatility, with individual movers pulling indexes in competing directions. The Iran diplomacy angle warrants continued attention: any breakdown in dialogue could reverse the risk-on impulse that supported equities in recent sessions. Absent a meaningful shift in the macro backdrop, stronger growth data or a credible Fed pivot, analysts see the current index level as vulnerable to sentiment reversals. Watch earnings guidance and geopolitical signals in the sessions ahead as the primary near-term price drivers.
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.
