Good morning. It is Friday, and the week is ending on a heavier note abroad than at home. Indian markets quietly logged a second straight day of gains on Thursday even as Ukraine absorbed the war's biggest single barrage and a cafe bombing shook central Damascus. Here is what is worth your time before the weekend.
In today's newsletter: Russia's deadliest strike on Kyiv yet, SBI Mutual Fund's ₹1.2 billion IPO test, and a bombing steps from Damascus's top court.
SENSEX 77,502 +0.75% |
NIFTY 50 24,175.70 +0.71% |
USD/INR ₹94.90 -26 paise |
BRENT CRUDE $71.71 +0.19% |
Markets extended Thursday's rally on cooling oil prices, and the rupee firmed to 94.90 as a weaker-than-expected US jobs report raised hopes the Federal Reserve stays on hold, even as IT stocks swung between a morning rally and a wave of afternoon target cuts.
Russia's biggest strike of the war kills at least 27 in Kyiv
Russia unleashed its most intense assault of the war on Kyiv overnight into Thursday, and the city is still counting the cost. At least 27 people were killed and around 91 injured after an 11-hour barrage that hit an ambulance station, a scientific institute and residential blocks across the capital.
The scale was staggering: Russia fired 74 missiles and 496 drones, among them hypersonic Zircons, sending more than 50,000 people into Kyiv's metro stations for shelter through the night.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would "definitely" retaliate, while Russia's defence ministry framed the bombardment as payback for Ukrainian strikes that have disrupted Moscow's oil sector and squeezed fuel supplies at home, a tit for tat that shows neither side is any closer to a lasting ceasefire more than four years into the war.
For India, two different wars now shape the same oil price. Brent has stayed calm this week as Iran-Israel tensions ease, but a Russia willing to fire its heaviest barrage of the war on the same day a Damascus cafe was bombed is a reminder that energy markets are one bad headline away from a shock, and New Delhi's 40 to 50 percent dependence on the Strait of Hormuz alone makes that a live risk, not a hypothetical one.
The attack came hours after Zelenskyy himself had publicly warned that a "massive" strike was imminent, a rare instance of Ukraine broadcasting the threat before it landed. Kyiv's early-warning intelligence appears to be improving even as the missiles keep getting through, which is its own uncomfortable story about the limits of air defence against saturation attacks.
SBI Mutual Fund's ₹1.2 billion IPO will test India's asset-manager listings
State Bank of India's asset management arm is heading to the public markets. SBI Funds Management plans to launch a $1.2 billion IPO the week of July 13, in what would be one of the country's largest listings this year.
The company is now seeking a valuation of roughly ₹1.15-1.20 lakh crore, down from the $14-15 billion bankers had floated earlier, a sign that even a business as profitable as India's largest asset manager is not immune to the FPI selling that has knocked more than 10 percent off the Sensex in the first half of this year. The issue is entirely an offer for sale: SBI, which owns 61.76 percent, and French partner Amundi, which owns 36.26 percent, will still dominate the shareholder register after selling a combined 10 percent stake.
Bomb kills nine at a Damascus cafe steps from Syria's top court
A bomb ripped through a crowded cafe in central Damascus on Thursday afternoon, killing at least nine people and wounding 22 in one of the deadliest single attacks in the Syrian capital since President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government took over from Bashar al-Assad.
Security officials said a person entered the cafe on al-Naser Street, placed an improvised explosive device under a table and left, in an attack that appeared aimed at the nearby Palace of Justice. No group has claimed responsibility, and Damascus's governor has promised those responsible will be punished.
The bombing is the latest sign that al-Sharaa's government, a year and a half into rebuilding the state after Assad's fall, still cannot guarantee basic security in its own capital, a credibility problem that matters well beyond Syria's borders as it seeks international recognition and investment.
Breaking.exe
AI world order. Sam Altman is pushing for a US-led global framework to set standards and police AI capabilities, a pitch that lands just as OpenAI's own dominance slips, with ChatGPT's market share dropping below 50 percent for the first time as Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude gain ground. |
IT sector downgrade. ICICI Securities turned negative on India's big IT names, slashing its price target on TCS by nearly 34 percent and cutting Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech too, warning of years of low single-digit revenue growth just as the sector heads into a Q1 earnings season that opens on July 9. |
Enterprise AI funding. Customer-experience platform Kapture CX picked up fresh capital as Bajaj Finserv Ventures led a $10 million round, a reminder that enterprise AI tools, not flashy consumer apps, are where a good share of India's startup capital is quietly going this year. |
Pangaea Revisited
US jobs miss. The world's biggest economy added just 57,000 jobs in June, well short of the 110,000 economists expected, and traders responded by all but ruling out a Fed rate hike this year, a signal that will shape how much room emerging-market central banks like the RBI have later this year. |
Iran talks near a deadline. US and Iranian negotiators reported "positive progress" wrapping up indirect talks in Doha aimed at turning April's ceasefire into a lasting deal, with roughly 45 days left before the current understanding on the Strait of Hormuz needs to become permanent. |
Also, Also, Also
Alia's spy debut. Alia Bhatt and Sharvari's YRF spy thriller Alpha hit screens on July 3 after being pushed back three times since its original December 2025 date, arriving as the franchise's first female-led entry and, going by soft advance bookings, its most muted opener yet. |
Wimbledon exit. India's Wimbledon campaign is already over, after Yuki Bhambri, N Sriram Balaji and Anirudh Chandrasekar all lost their men's doubles openers, leaving the country without a single player left in the draw at the grass-court major. |
Fresh VC fund. Early-stage investor Sparrow Capital closed its third fund at ₹475 crore, above its original ₹400 crore target, and plans to back 25 to 30 startups in consumer, fintech and AI-native software over the next three years. |