☀️ Sunday Sip: Don't Let the Headlines SteepToo Long

Good morning and happy Sunday! The markets may be catching their breath, but regulators, startups, and oil cartels certainly aren’t. Today’s edition is packed with SEBI’s crackdown saga, OPEC’s oil drama, and a startup graveyard story that’ll make you rethink digital-only models. So grab your chai—this one’s got extra masala.

🫖 Chai Shots

• 🧮 Jane Street’s ₹4.3 Cr IIT Offer Preceded ₹36,500 Cr Market Mayhem: Just weeks before being banned for manipulating index expiry trades, HFT giant Jane Street made headlines for offering a record ₹4.3 crore job to an IIT Madras student—spotlighting its stealthy, elite recruitment play in India’s financial ecosystem. More in the Big Brew 👇

• 🛡️ India Stands Ground in US Trade Talks: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal made it clear that India won’t bow to deadline drama—especially not Trump’s July 9 one. Talks with the US on a trade pact remain stalled over thorny issues like agri and auto, but Goyal insists that no deal will happen unless it's win-win and in India’s national interest.

• 🧱 UltraTech Denies Cement Cartel Probe: UltraTech Cement has rubbished reports claiming it's under a fresh CCI investigation for cartelisation, calling them "false and misleading." The company clarified it's not involved in the 2020 case that’s reportedly back in the spotlight.

• 🏢 Smartworks Narrows Focus as Losses Mount Ahead of IPO: The coworking unicorn reported a ₹63.2 Cr loss in FY25, up 27% from last year, even as revenue crossed ₹1,370 Cr. With an IPO launching July 10, Smartworks is betting that its managed office model can ride the flex-space wave despite heavy depreciation costs.

🪙 Market Masala

• 📈 Friday Ends Green, but Weekly Reds Persist: The Sensex climbed 193 points to 83,432 and the Nifty rose 56 points to close at 25,461—yet both indices ended the week nearly 1% lower.

• 📉 Trent Tumbles 11% on Growth Concerns: Tata’s retail play missed revenue expectations, sparking investor worry and a downgrade from brokerages.

• ⚖️ Aakash Slaps EY With Legal Notice Over Allen Ties: Aakash has accused EY of conflict of interest and demanded it step down as Byju's insolvency advisor. The coaching giant claims EY helped rival Allen while also working on its own financials—including the failed Byju’s merger—calling it a breach of ethics. Whistleblower emails and past disciplinary action against EY partners have only turned up the heat.

• 📢 SEBI Launches Investor Awareness Drive Post Jane Street Scandal: After freezing ₹4,846 crore in alleged gains from US firm Jane Street, SEBI is kicking off a campaign to warn retail investors about risks in F&O trading. SEBI chief T.K. Pandey emphasized that "market manipulation will not be tolerated" and promised less regulatory clutter, but tighter surveillance.

• ✈️ India Eyes Global Spotlight in Defence & Aerospace: Goyal: Union Minister Piyush Goyal is bullish on India becoming a go-to supplier in the defence and aerospace space, thanks to booming global capability centres and strong ties with developed nations. With more patents, production, and innovation happening locally, he sees India charting a "path-breaking" journey in the sector.

🌍 Global Masala

• 🇺🇸 Trump’s Tariff Letters Will Hit 12 Countries Monday: President Trump confirmed he’s signed “take it or leave it” tariff letters targeting global trade partners. Rates could spike up to 70% starting August 1, potentially shaking up global supply chains.

• 🇫🇷 France Wants EU Tariffs to Keep China in Check: French Finance Minister Eric Lombard warned that without stronger tariff shields, China’s 50%+ share in key industries could "kill" Europe’s manufacturing backbone. Tensions are rising as Chinese goods reroute from the US to Europe.

• 🛢️ OPEC+ Fast-Tracks Oil Output Boost, Sparks Oversupply Worries: Eight members of OPEC+ will ramp up production by 548,000 barrels/day in August—far more than expected. The group has shifted gears from price defense to market share grabs, which could crash oil prices further just as global demand sputters.

☕ The Big Brew: Jane Street’s Expiry Day Power Play

Wall Street trading giant Jane Street, known for elite hires and algorithmic precision, is now in SEBI’s crosshairs for pulling off what may be India’s biggest market manipulation case.

SEBI alleges Jane Street rigged expiry-day trading across 40+ Nifty and Bank Nifty stocks using a strategy called Intra-day Index Manipulation. In short:

• 📊 Two-Part Strategy:

  • In the morning, Jane Street aggressively bought stocks to artificially lift index prices.

  • In the afternoon, it dumped those stocks to crash prices—booking losses in equities but raking in huge gains on bearish options bets.

• 💰 One-Day Windfall: On January 17, Jane Street allegedly made ₹735 crore in a single day by pushing the Bank Nifty up, misleading traders, and then flipping its positions for a massive payday.

• 🔄 Repeat Offender: SEBI found this pattern across 15 out of 18 expiry days it investigated—despite Jane Street being warned. The firm booked a net ₹36,500 Cr profit between Jan 2023 and March 2025, with ₹43,289 Cr from options alone.

• 🚫 SEBI’s Hammer Falls: The regulator has banned four Jane Street entities, frozen bank accounts, and ordered ₹4,843 Cr in unlawful gains be placed in escrow. Jane Street denies wrongdoing and plans to contest the findings.

What does this mean?

• 🧠 For Investors: Index levels can be gamed, especially on expiry days—so tread carefully with options. SEBI’s crackdown may bring more scrutiny to algo trading firms.

• 🏦 For Markets: SEBI’s action is a warning shot. More probes into similar strategies could follow, affecting institutional sentiment and F&O volumes.

• 🇮🇳 For India Inc.: The case shows how global players are exploiting India’s fast-growing but less-regulated derivatives space. SEBI’s next steps could reshape the landscape.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 🤖 Cekura Raises $2.4 Mn, Expands to India: AI testing startup Cekura, founded by IIT-Bombay grads and incubated at Y Combinator, raised $2.4M to hire engineers and open a Bengaluru office. The firm helps companies simulate and monitor AI conversations at scale.

• 🧾 NoPaperForms Turns Public Ahead of ₹600 Cr IPO: The SaaS platform for educational institutions has formally converted to a public company and plans to file for an IPO by year-end. Backed by Info Edge, it turned profitable in FY24 and reported ₹70 Cr in revenue.

• 🏥 Cancer Care Startup Onco Shuts Down: Despite raising $7M and being acquired by Apollo, Onco couldn’t make its digital-only model work. High CAC, low margins, and lack of hospital buy-in doomed the venture—even with 25,000+ monthly users.

🤯 Chai Break Trivia

🧠🛏️ Did you know your brain literally cleans itself while you sleep? During deep sleep, your brain flushes out toxins through a special system called the glymphatic system—kind of like hitting "refresh" on your mind every night. So yes, that nap is totally productive.

🔮 What’s Brewing Next

• 📊 Smartworks IPO opens July 10: Watch the coworking space as India’s flex-office boom gets its next D-Street test.

• 👀 All Eyes on July 9: Trump’s tariff deadline may redraw the trade map again—especially with India holding firm on “no deadline diplomacy.”

From SEBI's market manipulation bombshell to Onco's quiet shutdown, today’s chai had everything—suspense, scale, and some serious startup soul-searching. So whether you're bullish or just bingeing startup stories, remember: in India’s markets and boardrooms, the real masala is in the details.

Catch you tomorrow! ☕
—Masala Chai Team