Equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Thursday, tracking a global risk-off mood after a fresh escalation in the West Asia conflict and hotter-than-expected US inflation data rattled investor sentiment. Rising crude oil prices and concerns over prolonged higher interest rates in the US weighed on risk assets, pushing both frontline and broader market indices into the red.

The BSE Sensex opened 367 points lower, while the Nifty 50 declined more than 110 points in early trade. The weakness mirrored overnight losses on Wall Street and declines across Asian markets.

Sensex traded 336.63 points or 0.46 per cent lower at 73,646.55 at 9.41 am (hitting a low of 73,518.75), and Nifty 50 was down 93.65 points or 0.40 per cent to 23,121.30.

US equities witnessed a broad-based sell-off overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite falling 1.9 per cent, 1.6 per cent and 2.0 per cent, respectively. Investor sentiment deteriorated after US consumer inflation accelerated in May 2026 at its fastest pace in three years, driven largely by surging energy prices amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

West Asia conflict pushes crude higher

Market concerns intensified after the US military conducted self-defence strikes against multiple Iranian targets, prompting Iran to officially close the Strait of Hormuz. While the US military stated that commercial vessels continued to move through the strategic waterway, the development heightened fears of potential supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures climbed back to around $95 per barrel, raising concerns over inflationary pressures globally and the outlook for monetary policy.

Commenting on the market outlook, Dr V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said the latest escalation in the West Asia conflict has pushed Brent crude back to $95 per barrel, while US inflation has risen to 4.2 per cent, increasing the possibility of another Federal Reserve rate hike.

IT stocks drag; pharma, media show resilience

Sectoral performance remained largely negative, with Nifty IT falling more than 2 per cent and emerging as the biggest laggard. Major technology stocks including HCL Technologies, Infosys and Tech Mahindra were among the top drags on the Nifty 50.

On the other hand, media, pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks displayed relative resilience despite the broader market weakness.

Among Nifty 50 constituents, ONGC, ICICI Bank, Power Grid Corporation and Bharti Airtel were the leading gainers in early trade.

Broader markets under pressure

The broader market also witnessed selling pressure, with both midcap and smallcap indices trading lower.

Within the midcap space, MCX, Vodafone Idea, Laurus Labs, Aurobindo Pharma and IRCTC posted modest gains. However, Oracle Financial Services Software, Persistent Systems, Coforge and Tata Elxsi declined between 2 per cent and 4 per cent.

In the smallcap segment, Aegis Logistics, GE Shipping, Dr Lal PathLabs and Welspun Corp gained 1-3 per cent, while Afcons Infrastructure, Zensar Technologies, HBL Engineering and Aditya Birla Real Estate fell 2-3 per cent.

On the BSE, Blue Jet Healthcare and Shipping Corporation of India surged 4-6 per cent, whereas HFCL and Cemindia Projects declined up to 5 per cent.

Market breadth remains weak

Market breadth remained firmly negative. Of the 2,703 stocks traded on the National Stock Exchange at the time of writing, 882 advanced, 1,726 declined and 95 remained unchanged.

A total of 19 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 38 stocks hit fresh 52-week lows. Additionally, 34 stocks were locked in their upper circuits, whereas 40 stocks hit their lower circuit limits.

“Inflation in the US has spiked to 4.2 per cent indicating the possibility of rate hike by the Fed,” Vijayakumar said.

He added that higher US bond yields could continue to pressure global equities, particularly technology stocks, and noted that foreign institutional investors currently show limited interest in Indian equities.

According to Vijayakumar, while measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India and the government have helped stabilise the rupee to some extent, the improvement is insufficient to revive market enthusiasm. “The weakness might linger for sometime,” he said.

On Wednesday, BSE Sensex ended 64.42 points positive or 0.09 per cent at 73,983.18, while the Nifty 50 dipped 27.15 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 23,214.95.

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Published on June 11, 2026