VST Industries shares surged 15% on Friday after the cigarette manufacturer reported a 120% jump in net profit to Rs 116 crore for Q4 FY26. Revenue from operations rose 52% in the same quarter, while EBITDA climbed 61%, signaling meaningful margin expansion alongside top-line growth. The company attributed the performance to strong fundamentals and market initiatives, though specific product-level or geographic drivers were not detailed. The scale of the earnings beat, net profit more than doubling while EBITDA growth lagged revenue growth, suggests operating leverage played a role, but cost-side improvements also contributed. The 15% single-session share price move reflects a significant repricing of near-term earnings expectations. Investors will now focus on whether VST can sustain revenue momentum through FY27, given that a 52% revenue increase in one quarter sets a high base for year-on-year comparisons. Volume trajectory and pricing power in the mid-segment cigarette market will be the key variables to track.
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.
