Fresh geopolitical tensions in the Middle East rattled global financial markets after Iran reportedly launched missiles towards Israel, reigniting fears of a wider regional conflict. Crude oil prices climbed sharply towards $97 a barrel, while the US dollar strengthened.
US markets tumbled on Friday and Asian markets opened deep in the red on Monday morning. Indian equities are also expected to begin the week on a weak note amid growing global uncertainty.
Gift Nifty, which closed at 23,091 on Friday night, rose briefly to 23,184 before retreating sharply, signalling a negative opening for Indian equities. Technical analysts say that if Nifty slips below 23,100, the next major support zone could emerge around 22,600-22,700.
Elon Musk's highly anticipated IPO of SpaceX is scheduled to hit the market this Friday and is expected to become one of the largest listings in history.
The issue price has been fixed at $135 per share, with the company aiming to raise $750 billion. The expected valuation ranges between $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion, roughly one-third of the market capitalisation of chip giant Nvidia.
The IPO is expected to absorb significant liquidity from global markets and could make Musk the world's first trillionaire. Around $200 billion of the proceeds will reportedly be used to repay debt at xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence venture.
SpaceX's core business remains satellite launches and operations through its Starlink network. Musk's longer-term vision reportedly includes a space-based data centre network, though the concept has generated debate within scientific circles.
Market participants also speculate that SpaceX could eventually merge with Tesla within the next year.
India's economy grew 7.7 percent in FY26, while fourth-quarter growth came in at 7.8 percent, according to revised estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Both figures exceeded market expectations and were higher than the previous year's numbers, although fourth-quarter growth slowed compared with the third quarter.
Nominal GDP growth eased to 8.9 percent from 9.7 percent a year earlier. India's GDP stood at ₹346.36 trillion ($3.92 trillion), causing the country to slip to sixth place globally by GDP size, with the UK regaining the fifth position.
The Reserve Bank of India has reduced its FY27 GDP growth forecast to 6.6 percent from 6.9 percent while raising its inflation projection to 5.1 percent from 4.6 percent.
Several banks and rating agencies have also revised their growth estimates to around 6.5 percent or lower.
Alongside Friday's monetary policy announcement, the RBI unveiled a series of measures aimed at attracting foreign capital and supporting the rupee.
Key measures include:
Exemption from capital gains tax and withholding tax for foreign investors investing in government securities.
Expansion of the range of government bonds available to foreign investors, including 15-year, 30-year and 40-year bonds as well as green bonds.
RBI to bear hedging costs on select FCNR deposits of three and five years, enhancing returns for non-resident depositors.
Persons resident outside India (PROI) can now invest up to 10 percent in listed Indian companies.
These measures are expected to increase foreign participation in Indian debt markets, improve prospects of inclusion in global bond indices and attract significant foreign currency inflows. Analysts estimate that more than $50 billion could enter the country through these channels, potentially helping the rupee appreciate towards ₹92-94 per dollar.
Concerns are mounting that the investment frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence may be cooling. Semiconductor stocks led the decline in US markets.
The Nasdaq Composite plunged 4.18 percent on Friday after South Korean markets had already suffered a sharp correction driven by weakness in chipmakers.
Stronger-than-expected US jobs data also fuelled concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695.15 points (1.35 percent) to 50,866.78. The S&P 500 dropped 200.57 points (2.64 percent) to 7,383.74, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1,121.53 points (4.18 percent) to close at 25,709.43.
US index futures continued to trade lower on Monday morning. Dow futures were down 185 points, S&P 500 futures lost 10 points and Nasdaq futures slipped 88 points.
Among Indian ADRs traded in New York:
HDFC Bank recovered in after-hours trading to close at $23.73.
ICICI Bank ended at $26.09.
Infosys closed at $12.52.
Wipro finished at $2.084.
European markets weakened on Friday, led by declines in semiconductor shares.
Asian markets remained under heavy selling pressure on Monday. Japan's Nikkei fell 4.65 percent, Australia's benchmark index lost 0.80 percent and South Korea's Kospi plunged 7.8 percent as Samsung and SK Hynix came under intense selling.
Hong Kong and Shanghai markets also opened lower.
Despite RBI measures broadly matching expectations, global concerns dragged Indian equities lower on Friday.
IT, metals and oil-related shares led the losses, while banks, real estate and healthcare stocks advanced.
The Sensex fell 116.67 points (0.16 percent) to 74,243.34, while the Nifty declined 49.85 points (0.21 percent) to 23,366.70.
Bank Nifty gained 188.40 points (0.35 percent) to 54,496.25. The Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.35 percent and the Smallcap 100 index edged down 0.06 percent.
Market breadth remained weak, with declining stocks outnumbering gainers on both NSE and BSE.
Foreign institutional investors remained aggressive sellers, offloading shares worth ₹8,776.25 crore on Friday.
Domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth ₹9,133.57 crore, absorbing most of the selling pressure.
Foreign investors have now sold more than ₹2.67 lakh-crore worth of Indian equities in 2026, compared with ₹1.66 lakh-crore during the whole of 2025. They have been net sellers in every month except February and withdrew ₹42,927 crore during the first week of June alone.
Strong US employment data increased expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike, pushing gold sharply lower.
Gold fell $146.40 (3.27 percent) on Friday to close at $4,330 per ounce and was trading near $4,326 on Monday morning.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold dropped to ₹1,14,200 per sovereign on Friday before falling another ₹2,200 on Saturday to ₹1,12,000.
Silver plunged 8.2 percent to $67.91 per ounce. Platinum traded at $1,775, palladium at $1,219 and rhodium at $7,300.
Industrial metals weakened on concerns over higher US interest rates.
Copper fell 1.01 percent to $13,730.90 per tonne, while aluminium slipped 0.52 percent. Lead and tin lost more than 2 percent, though zinc and nickel registered gains.
Rubber prices advanced in both domestic and international markets.
In Bangkok, RSS-3 rubber rose to $314.60 per quintal and RSS-1 reached $318.20. Futures prices touched their highest levels since January 2017 amid concerns that El Niño could reduce supply from Thailand and Indonesia.
In Kerala, RSS-4 rubber climbed to ₹26,500 per quintal.
International cocoa prices continued to decline, falling 5.12 percent on Friday to $3,762.
While El Niño is expected to affect production, weaker demand has kept prices under pressure.
The US Dollar Index remained elevated at around 100.09.
The euro slipped to $1.1523 and the pound weakened to $1.3334. The Japanese yen fell to 160.31 per dollar, prompting speculation of possible intervention by Japanese authorities.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.572 percent.
The RBI's measures aimed at boosting dollar inflows helped the rupee strengthen by nearly 1 percent on Friday.
The currency closed at ₹94.95 against the dollar, up by 84 paise. However, rising crude oil prices and expectations of higher US interest rates could put renewed pressure on the rupee this week.
In the offshore NDF market, the dollar was quoted at ₹95.34.
After declining sharply on Friday, crude oil prices rebounded strongly following renewed Middle East tensions.
Brent crude jumped 4.35 percent to $97.15 a barrel, while WTI crude rose to $94.78.
Cryptocurrencies recovered modestly after weekend weakness.
Bitcoin rebounded from below $59,500 to trade near $63,000. Ether gained 8 percent to around $1,680, while Solana rose more than 7 percent to trade above $66.
Sensex: 74,243.34 (-0.16%)
Nifty 50: 23,366.70 (-0.21%)
Bank Nifty: 54,496.25 (+0.35%)
Nifty Midcap 100: 60,754.90 (-0.35%)
Nifty Smallcap 100: 18,110.30 (-0.06%)
Dow Jones: 50,866.78 (-1.35%)
S&P 500: 7,383.74 (-2.64%)
Nasdaq: 25,709.43 (-4.18%)
Dollar: ₹94.95 (-₹0.84)
Gold (per ounce): $4,330 (-$146.40)
Gold (per sovereign): ₹1,14,200 (-₹280)
Saturday: ₹1,12,000 (-₹2,200)
Brent crude: $93.09 (-$1.94)
