Bank of America India CEO Vikram Sahu says India is not completely out of the woods despite the US-Iran peace deal. Valuations have corrected from two standard deviations above historical averages to in line, but at 20-21 times, India is not cheap enough yet. Corporate earnings have still not bottomed out. However, investor interest remains strong—30% more investors attended BofA's India conference. The government's reform momentum (more bilateral trade deals in 6 months than in prior 10 years) is a key positive. AI's impact on IT services remains the big unanswered question.

Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai says AI will create a $50 trillion economy by targeting the 60% of global GDP that is labor. Alibaba has shifted from a capital-light marketplace business to a heavy balance sheet company to invest in AI. He warns that Europe faces a massive involuntary transfer of wealth to the US if it doesn't build its own AI technology stack from energy to application layer.

Muyu Xu, senior crude oil analyst at Kepler, discusses the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Iran interim peace deal. He notes that while stranded vessels are beginning to move, full normalization will take 2-3 weeks due to insurance issues, mine clearance, and uncertainty about passage terms. He sees short-term oversupply risk from the release of ~100 million barrels of stranded oil, but expects prices to stabilize around $80/barrel if the situation holds. China's demand remains the key swing factor.

Andy Burnham won a by-election with 54% of the vote, positioning himself as Labour's best chance to counter the electoral threat from Nigel Farage's Reform Party. He is seen as a potential challenger to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership. Burnham is viewed as more left-leaning and likely to increase social spending, which markets will watch closely.