India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said petrol and diesel prices could be reduced if Brent crude stays at current low levels for the next two to three months. Brent has fallen to around $70.37 a barrel, a four-year low, amid easing geopolitical tensions and the resumption of key shipping flows. Puri said state-run oil marketing companies are still working through higher-cost crude inventories bought earlier, delaying any retail price cuts.

Gold and silver prices on MCX rose in early trading on July 3 as weak U.S. jobs data eased expectations of U.S. Federal Reserve rate hikes. MCX gold August futures gained 1.40% to ₹1,47,800 per 10 grams, while MCX silver September contracts climbed 1.80% to ₹2,37,456 per kg. In the U.S., gold prices also rose more than 1% and were set for a first weekly gain in five weeks.

Major U.S. stock indexes rose after the latest nonfarm payrolls report came in weaker than expected, pushing Treasury yields lower. The report did not disclose the specific employment figures, but said the data’s softness prompted a repricing of expectations for the Federal Reserve’s policy path. That shift helped lift broad-based U.S. equity benchmarks.

MCX gold August contracts slipped 0.21% to ₹1,44,124 per 10 grams in early trade, while MCX silver September contracts rose 0.54% to ₹2,31,630 per kg. The moves followed US data showing ADP private payrolls increased by 98,000 in June, below the 1,18,000 economists expected, and came alongside Federal Reserve officials’ remarks that inflation risks had eased. The dollar index held above 101, weighing on bullion demand for buyers using overseas currencies.

On July 1, gold and silver rallied after the June ADP private payrolls report came in below forecasts at 98,000 versus 118,000 expected. Comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh that inflation risks had moderated further reduced expectations for a July rate increase, with markets pricing a 65% probability of a September hike. The dollar index slipped to 101.3 as Comex gold futures rose $93 to $4,131 an ounce and silver gained $1.62 to $61.54 an ounce. MCX gold and silver futures also rebounded sharply.

Meta Platforms shares surged nearly 12% to $628 after Bloomberg reported the company is preparing to commercialise an AI cloud business, including selling AI computing power or hosting AI models for external customers. The effort would put Meta in more direct competition with Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure. Meta has signed multibillion-dollar AI chip deals with Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom, and is accelerating construction of large-scale data centres. The stock remains about 21% below its August 2025 record high of $796.

Gold and silver futures fell in early trade on India’s MCX on 1 July, with the August gold contract down 0.86% at ₹1,41,300 per 10 grams and the September silver contract off 2.06% at ₹2,23,850 per kg. In June, domestic spot gold prices declined by nearly 10% to ₹1,40,864 per 10 grams, while silver fell almost 15% to ₹2,25,125 per kg. Gold also posted its steepest quarterly drop since 2013, pressured by a stronger US dollar, higher Treasury yields and firmer expectations of US Federal Reserve rate hikes.

The article says the U.S. dollar is set to post its largest monthly gain in a year, with markets watching U.S.-Iran war risk and upcoming U.S. jobs data. It does not cite any confirmed escalation such as new military developments, attacks, or sanctions, and presents geopolitics as one factor among several. The employment data have not yet been released and are flagged as a forward-looking focus. It frames the move as a macro sentiment backdrop rather than a response to a new, specific event.

Persistent Systems said it will acquire German digital engineering firm Nagarro for $1.3 billion, with the deal expected to close by March 2027. The company said the combined business would have revenue of $2.9 billion after the transaction. It is targeting $5 billion in revenue by 2031. Persistent highlighted synergies in SAP implementation and OpenAI engineering deployment, and said it plans to repay a $1.6 billion short-term loan through cost synergies and cash generation without diluting equity for now.