US military strikes on Iran and reported Iranian retaliatory attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait escalated Middle East tensions. Brent crude rose 2.6% to $76.1 a barrel, pressuring energy-importing markets. India’s Sensex slid 591 points and the Nifty 50 fell 180 points to 24,218.70, with airlines, financials and autos among the weakest on higher import-cost concerns. The geopolitical shock weighed on expectations for energy supplies and risk appetite across emerging markets.

Ola Electric Mobility shares have fallen for a third straight session, taking the cumulative drop to more than 5%. Two suppliers—Sterling E-Mobility Solutions and Anevolve Mando eMobility—have filed insolvency petitions at the National Company Law Tribunal against Ola Electric Technologies over unpaid dues exceeding ₹40 crore. The vendors said payments have been overdue for more than 45 days, while Ola has raised concerns about parts quality. The dispute has sparked market concerns over the company’s liquidity and ability to continue as a going concern.

Gold in India slid ₹150 to ₹1,50,650 per 10 grams, while silver fell ₹5,000 to ₹2,40,000 per kilogram. In global markets, spot gold and silver were quoted at $4,160.60 and $62.24 per ounce, respectively. A stronger U.S. dollar and caution ahead of the U.S. ISM Services data and Federal Reserve policy signals prompted traders to cut positions, while Washington–Tehran tensions failed to generate hedging demand.

Spot gold is up 2.2% for the week, climbing toward $4,200 an ounce for its best weekly performance since May. Weak U.S. jobs data pushed expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike at the next meeting down from about one-third to less than 20%. Oil prices posted their biggest quarterly decline since 2020 as Persian Gulf shipping flows recovered and Saudi Arabia and the UAE lifted exports. Silver, platinum and palladium also gained.

India’s oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said state-run fuel retailers booked ₹74,781 crore in retail losses in Q1 as they continued to sell fuel made from higher-cost crude bought earlier. Brent was trading near $70 a barrel on Thursday, down 26% in a month and nearly 40% below its April high, but Puri gave no clear signal of an immediate retail price cut. He said a reduction is possible if crude prices remain steady for a while, according to Reuters. Puri also said no Indian refiner had directly exported petrol to Russia, though traders may have shipped Indian-made fuel there.

India’s gold price rebounded on Thursday to ₹1.47 lakh per 10 grams and silver rose to ₹2,40,000 per kilogram, tracking gains in international markets and a weaker US dollar. Spot gold climbed 1% to $4,070.04 per ounce, while silver added 1.3% to $59.89 per ounce. Analysts said a less hawkish tone from US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and a firmer Japanese yen helped pull down the US dollar index.

India plans to proceed over the coming months with stake sales in eight state-owned companies, including Hindustan Zinc Ltd. The Hindustan Zinc divestment is expected to raise about ₹50 billion (around $525 million). The sales are part of the government’s annual asset-monetisation target aimed at improving public finances.

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Brent crude fell below $72.5 a barrel and extended losses for a fourth straight session, returning to levels seen before the U.S.-Iran tensions escalated. Physical crude markets have weakened, and the forward curve has shifted into bearish contango. The report says sentiment has swung from supply-disruption fears to expectations of surplus, driven by diplomatic progress, improving shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and rising crude supply from the Middle East and Africa.