Several India-listed companies posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, led by Great Eastern Shipping, where profit nearly doubled and the stock rose 3.5%. Restaurant Brands Asia climbed 6.2% after reporting strong same-store sales. IREDA reported net profit up 36.8% year on year to ₹3.38 billion, while GPT Healthcare posted a 65.7% increase in net profit. The results point to improving earnings momentum and acted as positive catalysts for the respective stocks.

Rising US-Iran tensions have strained energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, tightening global crude supply. ExxonMobil posted second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $6.06, or $12bn, while Valero Energy reported a record-high second-quarter net profit of $3.7bn. The average US gasoline price climbed to $4.09 a gallon, up 27 cents from January. The developments have directly pushed oil prices higher and boosted performance in refining-linked traditional assets.

SF Intracity (9699.HK) issued a positive profit alert for the first half of 2026, forecasting profit attributable to owners of no less than RMB301 million, up at least 120% year on year. It also expects adjusted net profit of no less than RMB240 million, an increase of no less than 50%, and revenue of no less than RMB11,669 million, up at least 14%. The forecast falls under statutory disclosure requirements for Hong Kong-listed companies and directly reflects an improvement in the company’s fundamentals.

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is developing a 1.75 million tonnes petroleum storage facility at Mangaluru, with half of the capacity set aside for strategic reserves and the rest for commercial operations. Separately, three investors in Paytm parent One 97 Communications plan to sell shares worth up to Rs 2,002 crore at a 5% discount in a deal structured as a 100% secondary sale, meaning the company will not receive proceeds. LIC, Airtel and BSE were also among stocks on investors’ radar amid a broader market rise.

Vedanta Aluminium will turn ex-dividend on August 5 for its first interim dividend of Rs 8 per share. For the April–June quarter, the company posted a 216% year-on-year jump in net profit to Rs 5,629 crore. Revenue from operations rose 46% to Rs 21,393 crore, while EBITDA climbed 134% to Rs 10,499 crore and the EBITDA margin improved to 50%.

Five major Japanese securities firms reported sharp year-on-year increases in consolidated net profit for April–June. Nomura Holdings posted net profit of 145.5 billion yen, up 39.2%, while Daiwa Securities Group rose 80.6% to 56.4 billion yen and SMBC Nikko Securities jumped 2.5-fold to 26.7 billion yen. The gains were driven by stronger commission revenue from active bond trading amid rising interest rates and brisk equity transactions tied to semiconductor-related shares. Investment trust funds and fund wrap discretionary asset management services also contributed, according to Jiji Press.

UFC Freedom 250, an MMA event staged on the White House South Lawn in Washington on June 14 to mark the US’s 250th birthday, was the first combat sports contest held at the venue. TKO Group said the event produced a US$30 million loss. Executives said it generated US$1 billion in “earned media,” drew 34 million global viewers and added 25 new marketing partners, according to Bloomberg.

India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) rolled out a new closing auction to replace the previous 30-minute volume-weighted average price (VWAP) method for setting official closes. The Nifty ended at 24,774.30, up 390.70 points (1.60%), after a 0.8% late surge at around 3:28 PM, while the Sensex closed at 78,639.03, up 544.39 points (0.70%). The 90-basis-point gap between the indices was far wider than the usual 5–10 basis points, pointing to immediate disruption in index pricing and derivatives settlement.