Australia’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.4% in June, in line with expectations, even as 76,000 people started a new job and the participation rate edged up to 67%. Inflation remains at 4.0%, above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 2–3% target range. Economists expect the jobless rate to rise to 4.6% by year-end, while renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz add uncertainty to the inflation outlook. The figures underscored signs of a tight labour market, influencing the Australian dollar and government bond yields, but did not provide an immediate catalyst for spot trading.

Donald Trump’s threats of action against Iran have heightened Middle East tensions and pushed Brent crude oil futures up to $96 a barrel. Against that backdrop, India’s Nifty 50 fell 0.8% to 23,996, while Bank Nifty dropped 1.23% to 57,127. Technical signals show the Nifty has slipped below key moving averages, while the ADX fell to 9.61, its lowest level in three years, placing the market in a low-volatility squeeze ahead of a potential directional move.

Brent crude futures rose 2% to $96 a barrel in early trading as the U.S. launched a new round of strikes on Iran and Yemen’s Houthis targeted oil tankers in the Red Sea, widening the Middle East conflict. Analysts warned that a simultaneous closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb in the Red Sea would disrupt shipping routes for more than a quarter of the world’s oil and gas. Nearly five months of war have depleted global stockpiles and stoked inflation worldwide.

Top Wealth Group Holding Limited (NASDAQ: TWG) said it completed a US$80,000,000 private investment in public equity (PIPE) on July 22, 2026, issuing and selling 40,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at US$2.0 per share to nine non-U.S. investors. The company said the deal has closed and its total outstanding Class A ordinary shares increased to 59,579,883. The shares were issued in an unregistered private placement and are subject to transfer restrictions for six (6) months under Regulation S.

NVE (NVEC) reported fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue of $11.0 million, up 81% year over year, and net income of $6.39 million, up 79%. Gross margin increased to 81.3%. The company said it has completed a multiyear capacity expansion and has begun mass production of new MRI-safe wafer-level sensors, targeting robotics, AIoT and high-end medical devices. Management said the sales increase was driven mainly by existing customers adopting newer products and by new-customer wins, while the rise in accounts receivable reflected a late-quarter shipment concentration and has largely been collected.

One97 Communications Limited, Paytm’s parent, reported quarterly results with revenue of ₹240亿, beating expectations by 2.7%. Statutory earnings per share came in at ₹3.40, exceeding forecasts by 24%. Following the report, 18 analysts raised their FY2027 earnings and revenue forecasts and lifted the consensus price target by 7.9% to ₹1,476. The update has become a clear earnings-driven trading catalyst for the India-listed stock ONE97.

Nestle India posted a sharp pickup in its June-quarter performance, with revenue up 25.2% year on year and EBITDA margin at 24.2%, the highest for a June quarter in nearly four years. The margin, however, eased by 2.1 percentage points sequentially, reflecting higher operating costs. The shares touched an all-time high even as the stock trades at around 75 times trailing earnings, near the top of its five-year valuation range. The company flagged higher advertising spend and commodity and pricing uncertainty linked to the ongoing West Asia conflict as potential near-term drags on margins.

South Korea’s KOSPI surged 3.05% at the open on Thursday, as Alphabet’s stronger-than-expected AI-driven cloud results and higher capex outlook reinforced expectations for faster global AI infrastructure spending. Tech heavyweights including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix led the gains. Oil prices rose as Middle East tensions escalated after the United States carried out its 12th strike on Iran, but the tech-led market theme in Seoul remained intact. The won strengthened by 4.2 won against the dollar.