MONTERREY, Mexico — Perhaps the manager wasn’t the problem after all. Tunisia sacked Sabri Lamouchi after last week’s 5-1 defeat to Sweden, appointing Hervé Renard as their seventh manager since qualifying began. But it turned out a diffident side lacking defensive conviction is a diffident side lacking defensive conviction whoever has to do the press conferences. Tunisia were well beaten by a Japan side inspired by Feyenoord center-forward Ayase Ueda, who scored twice and led the line with intelligence and imagination in a 4-0 victory.

A Manager Given No Time to Prepare

Renard had just three days with his players before the match. He may have performed heroics to win the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia in 2012 and three years later become the first manager to win two Cups of Nations with different teams as he ended Côte d’Ivoire’s 23-year trophy drought. But he is not, as he has stressed, “a magician.”

Attempts to break into the mainstream of French football with Sochaux, Lille, and the France women’s team have faltered, and the 57-year-old seems to have accepted that his role now is with aspirant nations in Africa and the Middle East rather than at the apex of the European game. Renard still wears his trademark white shirt, but whatever luck it may once have brought seems to have worn off. Not that this mess could, in any realistic sense, be blamed on Renard. He’s just the well-remunerated man paid to try to explain how Tunisia are out of the World Cup already.

A Resigned Reaction From the Sideline

In the end, Renard simply seemed resigned to the result. “We were hoping for a better reaction, a better performance,” he said. “Unfortunately the score was heavy, but this reflects the difference between the teams. Today we were lacking good defensive organisation. In the first 20 minutes of the second half we were more rigorous but this was not enough.”

A Landmark Match for the Tournament’s History

This was a landmark game for the World Cup, the 1,000th in its history. What began in chilly Montevideo with simultaneous matches between France and Mexico and the United States and Belgium has arrived, 96 years later, in steamy Monterrey with the largest victory for an Asian side in the tournament’s history.

A violent and protracted thunderstorm the day before the game had led to flooding in the stadium compound and transformed the main access road into a raging torrent. The only evidence of that on matchday, though, was a film of mud over the tarmac and concrete.

Tunisia’s Problems Resurface

Tunisia’s underlying issues proved less easy to disguise than the cleanup from the storm. Renard retained the same basic shape as his predecessor Lamouchi and made only three changes, most notably in goal, where Aymen Dahmen replaced Mouhib Chamakh, who had been at least in part responsible for Sweden’s first two goals last week. But a similar lineup had a similar outcome; Tunisia were never in the game.

A Quick Start for Japan

Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu praised his players’ focus and execution following the comprehensive victory. “The players didn’t get too caught up in the opponent and were able to fully show what we wanted to do,” said a delighted Moriyasu.

Japan should have had a penalty within 70 seconds as Ueda was clipped by Ellyes Skhiri as he tried to turn — a mystifying non-award by the Romanian referee István Kovács and an even more mystifying non-intervention by VAR for an obvious foul — but they were ahead within four minutes anyway. A neat move dragged Tunisia across the pitch and left space for Keito Nakamura on the Japan left. The wing-back crossed low into a crowded box, with the ball cannoning in off the heel of an unsighted Daichi Kamada. Renard advanced toward the edge of his technical area, a look of bewildered horror on his face.

Tactical Tweaks That Paid Off

Moriyasu actually made one more change than Renard after his side’s impressive 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in their opener. Takefusa Kubo was injured, but the other three tweaks were tactical — and they worked. Having played largely without the ball in that earlier match, Japan poured forward in waves and, but for a last-gasp clearing challenge from Dylan Bronn and then a sprawling save from Dahmen that clawed Takehiro Tomiyasu’s deflected shot away a millimeter from fully crossing the line, Japan would have increased their advantage within the first 10 minutes.

Ueda’s Second Strike

The second goal, though, was always going to arrive sooner or later, and it came after 31 minutes as Ueda, receiving the ball in an inexplicable amount of space, turned, ignored the run of Junya Ito, and whipped a shot through the legs of Montasser Talbi and into the bottom corner. Renard’s expression this time was rueful.

A Royal Witness and a Comfortable Second Half

Renard can at least take credit for having tightened things up after the break, but by then it was too late. Japan were watched from the VIP box by Hisako, the widow of Norihito, grandson of Emperor Taishō, who traveled with her husband to South Korea shortly before the 2002 World Cup for the first visit by the imperial family since the Second World War. What she saw was a very good side who spent the second half conserving energy and playing within themselves against a far inferior team.

Two More Goals Seal the Result

Ito added a third from Ueda’s flick after 69 minutes, played onside by Mohamed Amine Ben Salida, who was dallying a good three or four yards behind the rest of the defensive line. Renard, incredulous, watched the replay on an iPad and spent much of the subsequent drinks break standing purse-lipped, staring into the middle distance. Ueda’s clever looping header made it four, and by then, Renard looked broken.

A Manager’s Tenuous Future

He’s surely too long in the game ever to have imagined the Tunisia job might be a long-term appointment, but, given recent precedent — Renard now being Tunisia’s seventh manager since the start of qualifying — he will be lucky to make it to Thursday’s final group game against the Netherlands.

With Japan having delivered the largest victory by an Asian side in World Cup history on the tournament’s symbolic 1,000th match, Moriyasu’s side will look to build on the momentum heading into their own remaining group fixtures. For Tunisia, the immediate question is no longer about tactics or lineup changes, but about whether Renard — appointed with just days to prepare and already facing a result this lopsided — survives long enough to lead the team into Thursday’s clash with the Netherlands, a match that now carries little more than pride at stake for a side already eliminated from World Cup contention.

The firm said that the near-term sentiment has improved after Brent crude dropped below USD80/bbl on the US-Iran ceasefire, but persistent volatility in prices and inventory rebuilding are expected to limit further downside, keeping margins compressed.

The brokerage firm said Q1FY27 is expected to weigh sharply on profitability despite the recent respite. “We expect an under-recovery of Rs7. 0/ltr and Rs10/ltr in Q1FY27, after considering a Rs10/ltr excise cut and capping of cracks at USD10/bbl and USD15/bbl for MS and HSD respectively,” the report noted. LPG continues to remain the biggest pain point, with losses estimated at around Rs500/cyl for Q1FY27. As per Q4FY26 concall commentary cited by PL, OMCs reported LPG under-recoveries in the range of Rs610-670/cyl in May 2026 vs ~Rs170/cyl in April 2026. Saudi CP prices for Q1FY27 are expected to increase by 47 per cent QoQ, driven by supply constraints due to the West Asia disruption.

The brokerage said the rollback of excise duty remains a key risk for earnings of the companies. “The overhang of a rollback in excise duty cuts of Rs10/ltr remains a key pressure point for OMCs, although the rollback is expected to happen in a phased manner,” PL Research said. The excise cut was introduced as a crisis management measure rather than a permanent change, and with crude moderating and retail price hikes implemented, the government may gradually withdraw the benefit. The government continues to bear a revenue impact of ~INR1700bn per year from the excise cut.

On crude, the brokerage expects near-term decline but volatility to persist. “If the US-Iran situation progresses positively and full normalcy is restored at the Strait of Hormuz, crude prices may soften further. However, we expect crude oil prices to rise again as countries are expected to replenish inventories and SPRs to maintain optimum resource levels, creating incremental demand in the market,” the report said.

Live Events

Iranian oil exports are expected to resume immediately, but countries that utilised strategic petroleum reserves during the conflict are likely to begin replenishing stocks, providing support to prices.

The last thing President Trump wants is another hit to consumers’ pocketbooks. But there is little policymakers can do to quickly address the memory-chip shortage behind

Apple’s decision to raise prices.

Only a handful of companies make memory and storage chips, and it takes years to build new factories. Three industry titans—Samsung Electronics

005930

decrease; down pointing triangle, SK Hynix and Micron Technology MU 8.70%

increase; up pointing triangle—dominate the business of memory chips, also called DRAM. They are using much of their capacity to serve the fast-growing artificial-intelligence industry, squeezing consumer-technology companies.

The Sensex dropped 607 points to settle at 76,802.90, while the Nifty50 fell 155 points to close at 24,013.10. The decline came after both indices had surged as much as 5% over the previous five trading sessions. Here are five key factors that could shape market sentiment in the days ahead.

1. ) US-Iran peace deal on thin ice?
Although the United States and Iran had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire to facilitate negotiations, tensions remained high after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed. The U.S. military, however, said commercial shipping traffic through the strategic waterway remained uninterrupted.The developments threaten to complicate efforts to secure an interim peace agreement brokered by Pakistan and signed on Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, aimed at ending nearly four months of conflict.

Live Events

Negotiators from both countries were scheduled to begin talks in Switzerland on Sunday, even as U.S. officials rejected Tehran’s claims that the Strait of Hormuz had been shut.

2. ) Will oil rise again?
Brent crude prices advanced on Friday after scheduled talks between the United States and Iran in Switzerland were abruptly cancelled, highlighting ongoing uncertainty around efforts to convert a temporary agreement into a lasting peace arrangement.
Brent crude futures gained 0.9% to close at $80.57 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures were trading 1.23% higher at $77.54 earlier in the day. Oil prices had briefly moved lower after Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire.Switzerland’s foreign ministry said the US-Iran talks planned at Bürgenstock on Friday would no longer take place.

3. ) IT selloff to continue?
IT stocks bore the brunt of Friday’s selloff, with Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech tumbling as much as 7%.

The weakness followed an 11% slide in Accenture’s shares on Wall Street after the consulting giant revised its FY26 revenue growth forecast to 3-4% from its earlier guidance of 3-5%. The company also projected fourth-quarter revenue of $17.75 billion-$18.4 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion, according to LSEG data.

The index continues to trade below its key short- and long-term moving averages, while the RSI has slipped below 40, indicating bearish momentum. Additionally, DI- has crossed above DI+ on the ADX indicator, reflecting growing seller dominance. The 27,050–27,000 zone remains a crucial support zone. Any sustainable move below this zone can lead Index extending its weakness further on the downside. The resistance is placed in the 28,250–28,300 zone.

4. ) Will rupee strengthen more?
The rupee ended almost unchanged against the US dollar on Friday after a volatile session. Gains from the unwinding of long dollar positions were offset by weakness in regional currencies and outflows linked to index rebalancing. The currency closed at 94.32 per dollar, little changed from the previous session.

Even so, the rupee registered its strongest weekly performance in 11 weeks, aided by debt inflows. It also recorded its fourth weekly gain in the last five weeks. The currency touched an intraday high of 94.21 as traders cut long dollar positions, but later gave up those gains as the dollar strengthened globally and index-related outflows weighed on sentiment.

“The recent RBI measures together with favourable oil prices following the easing of Middle East tensions helped the rupee remain in positive territory despite significant dollar strength today,” Dhaval Shah, Founder and Managing Director of De-Risk Forex Consultancy, told Reuters.

According to Shah, recent price action suggests that sentiment towards the rupee has improved. “The bias for the rupee has changed and we continue to maintain our forecast of 93.50,” he said.

The rupee has been trending higher since the Reserve Bank of India unveiled measures aimed at attracting dollar inflows two weeks ago.

5. ) FII turn net buyers

Foreign institutional investors turned net buyers during the week, bringing in cumulative inflows of around Rs 3,400 crore despite fluctuations in daily flows. The shift signals an improvement in overseas investor sentiment after a prolonged period of selling and provides support to domestic equities at a time when global risk appetite has improved and geopolitical tensions have eased, says Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.

Domestic institutional investors continued to provide strong support to the market, purchasing shares worth around Rs 7,100 crore during the week. Their steady buying helped cushion periods of volatility and underpinned the recent market recovery. Combined with the return of positive foreign flows, sustained institutional participation is likely to remain supportive for sentiment in the near term.

Technical set up

According to Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities, the broader trend in the Nifty remains positive as the index continues to trade above its 20-day and 50-day exponential moving averages. The daily RSI is at 58 and remains above its nine-day moving average, indicating that underlying momentum is still favourable despite recent consolidation.

On the downside, the 23,850-23,800 zone is expected to act as immediate support since it coincides with both the 50-day EMA and the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the recent rally. A decisive break below 23,800 could increase selling pressure and push the index towards the next support level at 23,500.

On the upside, the 24,150-24,200 zone, which aligns with the 100-day EMA, is likely to act as an immediate resistance area. A sustained move above 24,200 could improve bullish sentiment and pave the way for a rally towards the 24,500 mark in the near term.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Investors must hold shares of these companies in their demat accounts on the record date to be eligible for the respective corporate actions. The list remains tentative, as more companies may announce record dates for dividends, bonus issues and stock splits during the week.

June 22 (Monday)
Three companies have fixed June 22 (Monday) as the record date for their respective dividends. These include DMR Engineering (Rs 0.14 per share), Panasonic Carbon India Company (Rs 12 per share) and Sangam India (Rs 2 per share).Also read: Warren Buffett on why bubbles end badly – even when everyone knows they will

Live Events

June 23 (Tuesday)
As many as 11 stocks will turn ex-record date for their respective dividends on Tuesday, including some heavyweights. Asian Paints accounts for the highest dividend payout, as it plans to pay a final dividend of Rs 23 per share to its shareholders. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) meanwhile will pay a final dividend of Rs 22 per share, while Tata Power Company will pay a final dividend of Rs 2.5 per share.
Anand Rathi Share & Stock Brokers and Dalmia Bharat will pay a final dividend of Rs 5 per share each, while The Indian Hotels Company and Thyrocare Technologies will pay dividends worth Rs 3.25 per share and Rs 7 per share, respectively.
Other companies that have fixed Tuesday as the record date for their respective dividends include DAR Credit & Capital (Rs 0.5 per share), Fredun Pharmaceuticals (Rs 0.7 per share), GNA Axles (Rs 3 per share) and Master Components (Rs 0.75 per share).
June 24 (Wednesday)
ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India has fixed Wednesday as the record date for its 5:1 bonus issue. Shankar Buildpro and Wheels India, meanwhile, will turn ex-record date for final dividends worth Rs 5 per share and Rs 9.14 per share, respectively.

Wednesday is also the record date to determine shareholder eligibility for Bajaj Auto’s Rs 5,633 crore share buyback.

Also read: Bajaj Auto’s Rs 5,633 crore share buyback: Should you participate or avoid?

June 25 (Thursday)

Several heavyweight stocks will turn ex-record date for their respective dividends. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will pay a final dividend of Rs 10 per share, while IndusInd Bank will pay a final dividend of Rs 1.5 per share.

Supreme Industries accounts for the highest dividend payout among the stocks turning ex-record date on Thursday. The company will pay a final dividend of Rs 25 per share. Allied Blenders and Distillers, Care Ratings and Dr Lal Pathlabs, meanwhile, will pay dividends worth Rs 5.4 per share, Rs 14 per share and Rs 4 per share, respectively.

Other stocks turning ex-record date on Thursday include Alkyl Amines Chemicals (Rs 10 per share), Anthem Biosciences (Rs 2 per share), Ganesh Green Bharat (Rs 0.5 per share), GIC Housing Finance (Rs 4.5 per share), Mawana Sugars (Rs 4 per share), Nippon Life India AMC (Rs 12.5 per share), SJS Enterprises (Rs 3.5 per share), Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Rs 1.8 per share), Syngene International (Rs 1.25 per share), Uflex (Rs 3 per share), Vaibhav Global (Rs 1.5 per share) and Visaka Industries (Rs 1.2 per share).

Also read: NSE IPO – BSE hosts double the listed companies but numbers tell a different story

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)