Indian equity markets witnessed continued decline in Tuesday morning trading, with BSE Sensex declining 265.04 points to 74,000.21 and NSE Nifty dropping 104.65 points to 23,277.95, as reported by Business Standard. From the 30-Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro and NTPC were among the biggest laggards, while Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Asian Paints and Mahindra & Mahindra were the gainers. Monday's session saw Sensex slide 508.40 points to settle at 74,267.34, while the Nifty edged lower by 165.15 points to end at 23,382.60, marking the fourth consecutive day of decline. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,911.68 crore on Monday, according to exchange data, continuing the sustained selling pressure from emerging markets amid heightened uncertainty. Gift Nifty was trading around 23,469 level, a discount of nearly 134 points from the Nifty futures' previous close, indicating a negative start for the Indian stock market indices.
Market sentiment remained fragile amid fresh developments in the US-Iran conflict over the weekend, with Iran and US trading strikes while Israel ordered troops to move further into Lebanon in its battle with the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group, as reported by The Economic Times. Recent US strikes and the escalation in cross-border hostilities between Israel and Lebanon have exerted selling pressure on equity markets, reflecting heightened geopolitical uncertainty and a shift towards risk-off sentiment, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly launched strikes against an airbase used by US forces, with the latest escalation heightening concerns over the possibility of a prolonged conflict in the region. The United States struck Iranian radar installations and drone-control facilities after Tehran reportedly shot down an American MQ-1 Predator drone over the weekend, with Iran confirming carrying out a retaliatory attack, while Kuwait said it had intercepted incoming drones and missiles. US President Donald Trump made the announcement on Truth Social on Monday evening, saying that he persuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off the strike on Beirut, following which the Israeli leader "turned his troops around." Iran's foreign ministry stated that a ceasefire in Lebanon remains a key condition for any deal with the United States, with Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei emphasizing that "We insist that a ceasefire in Lebanon is an essential condition for any deal aimed at ending the war." As the United States claimed rapid progress in the peace deal with Iran to end war in the Middle East, Tehran reportedly suspended all peace talks in protest against Israel's actions in Lebanon and the military operation call to target southern quarters of Beirut, adding to the uncertainty. Tehran reportedly stated that discussions would not resume until Israel withdraws from Lebanon, raising fears that diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions could face prolonged delays. Adding to market uncertainty, US President Donald Trump reportedly downplayed the significance of the negotiations, suggesting he was unconcerned about whether talks continued.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 1.13% higher at $97.08 per barrel as of latest reports, showing significant increase from previous levels, as reported by Livemint. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1.24% to $94.92, with both benchmarks rallying as fighting flared up in the Middle East, diminishing the prospects of the US-Iran peace deal. Domestic MCX Crude futures surged over 5% to approach ₹8,700, raising significant concerns for import-dependent economies such as India. The rebound came amid renewed uncertainty surrounding negotiations between Washington and Tehran. For India, which depends heavily on Gulf energy imports, the disruption represents a direct macroeconomic risk. Higher oil prices can increase the country's import bill, put pressure on the rupee, and fuel inflationary risks, all of which could weigh on economic growth and corporate profitability. The rising military strikes in the geopolitically fragile Middle East raised worries over the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow 33-kilometre waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman that handles over 20% of the world's daily oil and gas shipments.
US stocks opened lower on Wednesday as rising crude oil prices and renewed Middle East tensions pressured sentiment, after reports of Iranian missile activity near Kuwait and Bahrain, as reported by The Economic Times. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 123.11 points, or 0.24%, to 51,184.68, while the S&P 500 declined 13.42 points, or 0.18%, to 7,596.36 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 56.02 points, or 0.21%, to 27,037.88 at open. Wall Street opened lower on Wednesday as crude oil prices surged following fresh Mideast tensions and the US government announced a proposal to impose fresh tariffs on 60 economies on alleged failure to curb forced labour, according to The Economic Times. The U.S. military said Iran fired missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, which failed to hit their targets, adding to the geopolitical uncertainty. However, strong profit reports from U.S. companies and continued excitement around AI are keeping Wall Street near its all-time highs, providing some support to the broader market sentiment despite the initial decline.
The Nifty Media index fell 1% to 1,413.30 in Tuesday's session, reversing from its previous 1.37% gain, as reported by Business Standard. Saregama India (down 2.84%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 2.19%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 1.14%), Sun TV Network (down 0.61%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 0.6%), Nazara Technologies (down 0.4%), and PVR Inox (down 0.13%) fell, while Tips Music (up 1.27%), Prime Focus (up 1.14%) and D B Corp (up 0.91%) edged higher. In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.75% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.65%, indicating widespread selling pressure across market segments. Market breadth remained negative with 1,689 shares rising and 2,276 shares falling on the BSE, while 185 shares remained unchanged, as reported by Business Standard. The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.71% to 15.93, suggesting some stabilization in market sentiment despite the ongoing decline. The Nifty 30 June 2026 futures were trading at 23,370.10, at a premium of 92.15 points as compared with the spot at 23,277.95, while the Nifty option chain for the 30 June 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 76.1 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price and a maximum put OI of 57.2 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price.
Foreign investors remained net sellers of Indian equities, with Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloading equities worth ₹3,911.68 crore on Monday, as per The Economic Times. The sustained foreign selling pressure has contributed significantly to the market's decline over the past four sessions. Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services said the domestic market is expected to remain range-bound with a marginal negative bias in the near term amid persistent foreign portfolio investor (FPI) selling and ongoing uncertainty around global macro developments. Nifty 50 is expected to trade in a broader range in the near term amid ongoing global macro uncertainty and sustained Foreign Institutional Investor outflows, with broader markets may continue to witness stock-specific movement, while investor focus is likely to remain on the RBI monetary policy outcome, keeping rate-sensitive sectors active, according to Livemint. The combination of geopolitical tensions and continued foreign fund outflows has created a challenging environment for Indian equities, with analysts warning that a decisive break below the 23,262 level could trigger further selling pressure. Notably, South Korea's equity market has overtaken India's as the world's sixth largest, driven by a relentless surge in chip heavyweights powering the global artificial intelligence buildout.
