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wutwhanfoto

Stock market this week will track simmering tensions in West Asia, its impact on crude oil prices, and trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said.

The trading week may begin on a cautious note following a sharp decline in the US markets over the weekend, an expert said.

Besides, progress of monsoon and inflation data announcement will also be important factors to watch out for.

“This week will be driven by key inflation, and global macroeconomic data releases. In India, investors will closely track inflation data for May, scheduled for release on June 12, along with foreign exchange reserves data on the same day.

“Globally, developments around the US-Iran negotiations and their implications for crude oil prices, currency movements, and overall risk sentiment will remain in focus,” Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

US markets ended sharply lower on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite tumbling 4.18 per cent. The S&P 500 dived 2.64 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.35 per cent.

“The week ahead is likely to begin on a cautious note following a sharp decline in global markets, particularly AI-related technology stocks. On the positive side, domestic markets have some supportive factors in the form of resilient GDP growth, strength in the rupee following the RBI policy announcement, and a meaningful decline in crude oil prices,” Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart Ltd, said.

Developments on the US-Iran front remain highly fluid and continue to generate volatility in global markets, he said.

“This week will also be data-heavy, with several important macroeconomic releases from both the US and China. Among them, the US inflation data scheduled for Wednesday will be particularly critical, as it could significantly influence expectations regarding the Federal Reserve’s future policy path and set the tone for global markets,” Meena added.

Last week, the BSE benchmark Sensex declined 532.4 points, or 0.71 per cent, and the NSE Nifty dipped 181.05 points, or 0.76 per cent.

“The Nasdaq fell 4 per cent, marking its worst single-day decline since April 2025, as investors aggressively reduced exposure to semiconductor and technology stocks. Given the significant weight of IT in Indian indices, this weakness could spill over into domestic markets and keep sentiment under pressure during the early part of the week,” Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said.

Globally, the key event to watch will be the US CPI inflation data, he said, adding that a softer-than-expected reading could revive hopes of future Federal Reserve rate cuts and improve risk appetite across global markets.

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Published on June 7, 2026

The government has increased the prices of domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by ₹29 per 14.2 kg cylinder, marking the first hike in the current financial year. With the latest revision, the price of a domestic LPG cylinder in Delhi will increase to ₹942 from ₹913.

However, this is the second increase in prices of domestic LPG—the cooking fuel for more than 33 crore households—since the conflict in West Asia intensified from February 28, 2026. On March 7th, the government had raised domestic LPG prices by ₹60 per 14.2 kg cylinder.

The Oil Ministry on Sunday said “The cost of supplying a cylinder has risen to over ₹1,600, an under-recovery of about ₹700 on each domestic cylinder, against a Saudi CP for LPG that has risen by about 46 per cent since February.”

The Indian household continues to buy cooking gas much cheaper than the household in any neighbouring country, and far below the price paid in advanced economies such as the United States, Australia and Canada, it added.

A beneficiary of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) pays an effective ₹642 for a 14.2 kg cylinder, and the general consumer in Delhi ₹942, against a cost to supply that has now risen to over ₹1,600.

Any household can buy as many cylinders as it needs at ₹942. A PMUY beneficiary will additionally receive the direct benefit transfer of ₹300 a cylinder on the first four refills each year—broadly the average annual consumption of a typical Ujjwala household, the Ministry explained.

Even a non-PMUY household would pay about ₹700 below the market-linked cost of the cylinder. Retail prices differ marginally across locations on account of distribution costs, it added.

As the conflict tightened the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) most commercial traffic in the waterway was brought to a near halt. About 54 per cent of India’s LPG consumption was routed through the SoH, leaving the cooking-gas supply directly exposed to the disruption.

Rising under recoveries

The price hike comes after the under-recoveries of the PSU oil marketing companies (OMCs)—Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL)—started rising since the beginning of June.

The under recovery from selling LPG to domestic consumers below market rate has risen to around ₹700 per 14.2 kg cylinder as of June 4th from roughly ₹650 per cylinder last month. Even for the March 7, 2026 LPG cylinder price hike of ₹60, the government absorbed ₹74 per cylinder.

On Sunday’s hike, the Oil Ministry said “Following the June contract price, the cost of supplying a 14.2 kg cylinder, were it priced on an import-linked basis, has risen to over ₹1,600. The under-recovery now absorbed on each domestic cylinder is about ₹700.”

The scale of this is visible in the fully market-priced commercial cylinder: the 19 kg cylinder used by hotels and restaurants sells in Delhi at ₹3,113.50, about ₹164 a kg, after five increases during the West Asia crisis, it added.

The domestic household, by contrast, pays about ₹66 a kg after the revision. Commercial gas carries a higher rate of tax and larger margins, so it sits above the household’s cost-reflective level; even so, the import-linked cost of a domestic cylinder works out to over ₹1,600, it added.

Through the West Asia disruption the benchmark moved sharply higher. As the 50:50 propane-butane blend used for India’s LPG, the Saudi CP for LPG stood at about $543 a tonne in February, before the disruption.

Following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in late February, the April contract price—the first set after the disruption tightened Mideast Gulf exports—rose to $775 a tonne, with propane at $750 and butane at $800, and has since edged up further to $790 a tonne in June.

The blended LPG benchmark has thus risen by about 46 per cent since the pre-crisis February level. The cost of the imported molecule rose with it.

Published on June 7, 2026

File photo
| Photo Credit:
Andrii Yalanskyi

The ED, which is probing a money laundering case linked to CMRL and involving former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena T, has approached a court here seeking access to documents collected by the SFIO during its investigation into the matter.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a petition before the Special Court for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kochi seeking copies of documents gathered by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which had investigated alleged “fake” expenses admitted by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) before the Income Tax Settlement Commission.

ED sources said the documents sought by the agency include records related to Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, the company owned by Veena, which was engaged in IT consultancy services.

The agency has requested the court to direct the SFIO to provide copies of documents collected during its investigation. The petition is likely to be considered next week.

The ED probe pertains to allegations that CMRL made payments amounting to ₹2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions Private Limited without receiving any services in return.

According to the ED, another company, Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited (EICPL), operated by CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, had extended loans worth ₹50 lakh to Exalogic despite the company allegedly failing to make timely repayments.

The agency has alleged that the management of CMRL, led by Kartha, and Veena generated “proceeds of crime” through these transactions.

The ED registered the PMLA case based on a prosecution complaint filed by the SFIO before a court in Ernakulam in April 2025.

The SFIO is the investigation arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

CMRL came under the scanner of central agencies after an Income Tax Department raid in January 2019 allegedly detected irregularities, including certain expenses suspected to be fictitious and amounting to around Rs 130 crore.

Officials said these expenses were later admitted by CMRL before the Income Tax Settlement Commission, following which a complaint was referred to the SFIO for investigation.

In its prosecution complaint, the SFIO alleged that fictitious cash expenses amounting to ₹182 crore were recorded by CMRL over a period of 15 years. It also alleged that the company paid ₹91 crore towards transportation services to firms owned by the Kartha family.

Last month, the ED conducted searches at 10 locations linked to the case, including premises associated with Veena and former minister P A Mohammed Riyas, who is her husband.

Published on June 7, 2026

FILE PHOTO: Reliance Industries
| Photo Credit:
AMIT DAVE

The combined market valuation of seven of the top-10 most-valued firms eroded by ₹1.25 lakh crore last week, with Reliance Industries taking the biggest hit, in-line with a bearish trend in equities.

Last week, the BSE benchmark Sensex declined 532.4 points, or 0.71 per cent, and the NSE Nifty dipped 181.05 points, or 0.76 per cent.

“Persistent FII selling remained the key drag on market sentiment despite supportive developments such as cooling crude oil prices and a recovery in the rupee against the US dollar. Concerns regarding the pace of monsoon advancement also weighed on investor confidence,” Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart Ltd, said.

From the top-10 pack, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Hindustan Unilever faced erosion from their valuation, while HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and State Bank of India were the gainers.

The market valuation of Reliance Industries dropped ₹39,718 crore to ₹17,47,321.40 crore.

TCS faced an erosion of ₹20,134.66 crore from its valuation, which stood at ₹7,95,346.09 crore.

Bharti Airtel’s market valuation dived ₹18,736.04 crore to ₹10,96,150.49 crore and that of Larsen &; Toubro tumbled ₹16,880.2 crore to ₹5,43,956.44 crore.

The market capitalisation (mcap) of LIC diminished ₹14,610.74 crore to ₹5,05,873.32 crore.

Bajaj Finance lost ₹9,681.36 crore from its mcap, which stood at ₹5,53,580.97 crore.

The valuation of Hindustan Unilever declined ₹5,909.23 crore to ₹4,98,301.31 crore.

However, the mcap of State Bank of India jumped ₹12,692.09 crore to ₹9,02,523.63 crore.

The valuation of ICICI Bank went up ₹4,484.86 crore to ₹9,05,074.77 crore and that of HDFC Bank climbed ₹4,101.47 crore to ₹11,50,743.31 crore.

Reliance Industries remained the most-valued domestic firm followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, LIC, and Hindustan Unilever.

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Published on June 7, 2026