Trading in South Korea’s KOSPI was suspended, while SpaceX suffered a roughly $400 billion one-day loss in market value, stoking broader concerns that AI-driven valuations are deflating. KOSPI heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which had surged on expectations of booming demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for AI servers, also pulled back sharply. Experts cited in the report said market enthusiasm around AI appears to have peaked, drawing comparisons to the 2000 dot-com bubble. The episode was described as a sudden, index-level shock rather than routine market volatility.

Gold and silver futures rose on Monday across India’s MCX and New York’s Comex. MCX gold for August gained 0.39% to Rs 1,47,773 per 10 grams, while MCX silver for July added 0.92% to Rs 2,35,320 per kg. Comex gold advanced 0.63% to USD 4,181.92 per ounce and Comex silver increased 0.99% to USD 65.54 per ounce. Analysts cited persistent tensions in West Asia, strong physical demand and fresh investor buying as key drivers.

The Indian rupee ended 6 basis points higher against the U.S. dollar at 94.34, supported by optimism over progress on a proposed India-U.S. trade agreement. The dollar index slipped slightly, while Brent crude futures fell 0.65% to $79.33 a barrel. A delay in U.S.-Iran talks added geopolitical uncertainty, though there were no fresh escalations or supply disruption events. Indian equities slumped and foreign investors were net sellers of 10.25 billion rupees in a single session.

Police in Telangana’s Adilabad and Mancherial districts have intensified action against spurious cotton seeds, seizing 792 packets of “Pink Bond” worth ₹9.5 lakh and expired cotton seeds and pesticides valued at ₹9 lakh. Authorities arrested nine suspects, including a Hyderabad agri-input company proprietor and a man from Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district. The crackdown comes during the cotton sowing season in north Telangana, when agents allegedly sell fake seeds to farmers at lower prices or on instalments, risking poor germination and a smaller effective planted area.

Mumbai’s Customs Preventive Wing intercepted the sanctioned Russian-flagged tanker MT Angara and an Indian bunker barge, MV Bay III, off the Mumbai coast over an alleged mid-sea fuel transfer. Customs authorities said about 200 tons of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) was supplied using forged export documents. Investigators allege the operation used fake Indian Oil export invoices and bypassed required customs filings to evade taxes and duties. Officials are also probing suspected payment routing through UAE-based shadow companies.