Indian equity indices traded firmly higher in Wednesday's afternoon session, Sensex surging 64.42 points to 73,983.18 and Nifty 50 advancing 27.15 points to 23,214.95, defying weakness across global markets. However, volatility persisted on Dalal Street as the Nifty settled in red near 23,200, closing down 0.12% despite the initial gains. The recovery came despite domestic equities opening on a muted note tracking weak global cues after Asian markets retreated following a sharp sell-off in technology shares on Wall Street. The India VIX declined to 15.55, indicating easing market volatility, while market breadth remained negative with 1,361 stocks advancing against 1,768 declining on the NSE. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, said the frontline indices surged past the previous two trading sessions' highs following the formation of an Inverted Hammer candlestick pattern. The gains came despite investor sentiment globally remaining cautious after the US launched fresh airstrikes against Iran, pushing crude oil prices higher. Asian peers declined as geopolitical tensions flared up between the US and Iran, resulting in one of the biggest outbreaks of hostilities since the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in April. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out missile and drone attacks on US military bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz, driving crude oil prices higher by 1%, which does not bode well for India's import-oriented economy.
Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and JSW Steel emerged as the top gainers among Nifty 50 constituents, with shares jumping around 2% each. Hindustal Industries, Coal India, Tata Steel, Jio Financial Services and ONGC featured among the key laggards. Sectorally, FMCG, private bank and chemical stocks gained between 1% and 2%, while media stocks emerged as the worst performers, declining over 1%. Metal, PSU bank, oil & gas and auto indices also traded lower. Among broader market movers, in the midcap pack, Coromandel International, Colgate-Palmolive India, SRF, PB Fintech and Phoenix Mills gained between 1.5% and 4%, while Oil India, Kalyan Jewellers, BHEL, Hitachi Energy India and Oberoi Realty declined between 2% and 3%. In the smallcap segment, Chambal Fertilisers, Afcons Infrastructure, MRPL and Aster DM Healthcare advanced between 4% and 5.5%, while Welspun Corp, Data Patterns, GE Shipbuilding and Manappuram Finance fell nearly 4% each. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, investor interest remained stock-specific across broader markets with 81 stocks touching their 52-week highs and 32 hitting fresh 52-week lows.
Reliance Industries shares rallied as much as 2.46% to ₹1,300.50 on the NSE following the announcement of a strategic partnership with Meta Platforms for an AI-enabled data center in India. Meta will lease a 168 MW capacity data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat, with options to scale, as announced by Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta. The facility is expected to power Meta's products and AI capabilities needed for "personal superintelligence" delivery to one of its largest global communities. Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions shares opened 6.4% higher at ₹1,312 and extended gains up to 15% to hit an intraday high of ₹1,421 after securing a ~900 MW renewable energy partnership with Meta Platforms for 837 MW of new solar and wind capacity across Rajasthan and Karnataka. Hindustan Unilever shares jumped more than 3% during the trading session, with the stock surging 3.3% to its intraday high of ₹2,204.90 as investors focused on defensive sector bets amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
Concord Biotech shares gained as much as 5.9% to hit an intraday high of ₹1,347 after securing an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) approval from the USFDA for Tofacitinib tablets. The drugmaker received approval for its ANDA for tofacitinib tablets, 5 mg and 10 mg, which are indicated for treating adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, active psoriatic arthritis, active ankylosing spondylitis, moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, and active polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Non-ferrous metal recycler CMR Green Technologies made a robust debut on the stock exchanges, starting trading at ₹268 per share, reflecting a premium of 39.58% over the IPO issue price of ₹192. The IPO was subscribed 127.04 times with bids for 2,927,544,594 shares against 23,043,930 equity shares on offer. Afcons Infrastructure surged as much as 9.8% to hit an intraday high of ₹346.50 after securing an order worth ₹5,301 crore for the Vadhvan Port Project for constructing a 10.14 km-long breakwater at the upcoming Vadhvan Port in Maharashtra.
The banking sector played a crucial role in driving the market recovery, with Nifty PSU Bank index jumping 3.62% to 8,496.60, significantly outperforming the previous session's 0.72% gain. The banking pack emerged as the top-performing segment, with private banks also remaining firm, helping the banking pack outperform most other sectors. Bank of Baroda (up 5.59%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 5.48%), Bank of India (up 5.45%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 4.4%), Canara Bank (up 4.25%), UCO Bank (up 4.04%), Indian Bank (up 3.79%), Punjab National Bank (up 3.73%), Union Bank of India (up 3.18%) and Indian Overseas Bank (up 2.2%) rose significantly. The gains came after the RBI introduced a specialised framework for Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR(B)) deposits and External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs), which are expected to improve dollar liquidity and support banking sector profitability. The central bank also widened the scope of the ECB scheme to allow banks, in addition to public sector undertakings, to raise foreign currency borrowings. ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries were among the biggest contributors to the benchmark gains, with the Nifty PSU Bank index emerging as the top-performing sector with all constituents ending higher.
The market recovery was significantly boosted by oil prices cooling down after Iran and Israel halted attacks on each other. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.66% to $92.69 per barrel, providing relief to energy-dependent sectors and improving overall market sentiment. However, this development does not bode well for India's import-oriented economy as crude oil prices rose by 1% due to the latest geopolitical escalations. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out missile and drone attacks on US military bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz, marking one of the biggest outbreaks of hostilities since the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in April. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, investor sentiment globally remained cautious after the US launched fresh airstrikes against Iran, pushing crude oil prices higher. This comes after strong escalations in the Middle East over the weekend, with the resolution of geopolitical tensions providing a significant boost to investor sentiment. Iran on Monday halted military strikes against Israel but warned it would resume attacks if Israeli forces continue operations in Lebanon, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said that the conflict with Iran and Hezbollah was "not yet over". Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were higher on Monday as chip stocks rebounded from Fridays rout. In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi surged 8.18%, Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 2.17% and Shanghai's SSE Composite index went up by 1.28%, marking a rebound from sharp losses in the previous trade.
The broader markets demonstrated mixed participation in the rally, with Nifty Midcap index slipping 0.08% and Smallcap index declining 0.36%, underperforming the benchmarks. Market breadth remained negative despite the headline indices trading in the green, with 1,361 stocks advancing against 1,768 declining on the NSE. JSW Steel shed 0.14% despite reporting consolidated crude steel production of 22.93 lakh tonnes in May 2026, registering a 15% year-on-year increase compared with 19.96 lakh tonnes produced in May 2025. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹4,566.03 crore on Tuesday, highlighting continued foreign selling pressure despite the market recovery. Hexagon Nutrition's IPO received strong investor response with 48.51 times subscription, receiving bids for 1,04,79,18,699 shares against 2,16,02,008 shares on offer. The issue, priced between ₹42 to ₹45 per share, opened for bidding on June 5, 2026, and will close on June 9, 2026.
US markets ended mostly higher on Monday (June 8, 2026), while European shares were trading in positive territory on Tuesday. Asian markets ended mixed as investors assessed the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel. China's exports jumped 19.4% YoY to a record $376.78 billion in May 2026, surpassing expectations and marking the fastest growth since February, driven by inventory build-up ahead of energy price pressures and strong demand for semiconductors and AI hardware. Analysts said domestic markets continue to remain resilient amid strong institutional support and selective sectoral buying, but cautioned that premium valuations and continued foreign investor outflows could limit further upside in the near term. Technical analysis shows the Nifty formed a Dragonfly Doji pattern, with the 23,100-23,200 zone acting as crucial support. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, "Domestic markets are witnessing a mild recovery after the recent sharp decline, supported by a pause in Iran-Israel tensions and softer crude prices. However, sentiment remains fragile, with continued FII outflows and higher bond yields highlighting persistent concerns around evolving global macro dynamics," said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Investments Limited.
