U.S. equities pushed to record highs as investors shifted focus toward first-quarter earnings season, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rebounding sharply after war-related volatility. The catalyst for stabilization was easing concern over U.S.-Iran tensions, which had briefly rattled risk appetite and sent oil prices higher. Markets are now betting that corporate profit reports will validate the elevated valuations stocks currently carry. Earnings season becomes the next critical test: if companies deliver results strong enough to justify current price levels, the rally has fundamental support. If they disappoint, the multiple compression risk becomes acute, particularly in a rate-sensitive environment. Oil remains the live variable. Elevated crude prices feed directly into input costs, margin compression, and consumer inflation expectations, which in turn influence Fed policy assumptions. Investors will track both earnings guidance and any renewed escalation in the Middle East as the dual determinants of whether record levels hold or reverse in the weeks ahead.
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.
