Benchmark equity indices opened marginally flat on Wednesday but gained in early trade despite renewed geopolitical tensions in West Asia against resilient domestic sentiment.

Oil prices edged higher amid geopolitical uncertainty. Rising crude prices remain a key risk for India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, as they could hurt economic growth, pressure corporate margins and fuel inflation. The rupee depreciated to 95.56 against the US dollar in early trade.

Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, emphasised that the market is likely to largely ignore the escalation of the conflict in West Asia as a one-off.

Banking and FMCG stocks supported the benchmarks, while metals remained under pressure. Markets may witness volatility amid weakness in broader Asian markets and fading momentum in the global AI-driven rally.

Sensex jumps over 500 points, Nifty 50 up 140 points

The BSE Sensex climbed 513 points from the previous close during the session after opening nearly 70 points higher at 73,988.27 and touching an intraday high of 74,432.12. The Nifty 50, which dipped 8 points to 23,233.95 against the previous close of 23,242.10, soared nearly 140 points in early trade.

At 9.55 am, Sensex traded 507.38 points or 0.69 per cent higher at 74,426.14, and Nifty 50 gained 133.10 points or 0.57 per cent to 23,375.20.

West Asia tensions cloud global sentiment

Investor sentiment remained cautious after tensions escalated in the Middle East following US strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump said Tehran had downed a US Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. The developments clouded hopes of a durable ceasefire and kept global markets on edge.

Broader Asian markets fell 1.3 per cent in early trade as investors awaited key US inflation data later in the day for cues on the future trajectory of interest rates.

Vijayakumar added that fatigue is gradually creeping into the global AI trade, particularly in markets such as South Korea and Taiwan where foreign institutional investors are becoming wary of concentration risks.

“A significant trend in global markets is the fatigue that is creeping in AI trade. FIIs appear to be increasingly cautious about the concentration risks associated with the AI-related trade in South Korea and Taiwan. But this has not yet reflected in the FIIs looking at Indian stocks, where they continue to sell. Even though the Indian market has corrected, the fact remains that the valuations are not yet attractive,” he said.

“Given the sustained FPI selling, the valuation differential between the large caps and the broader market is likely to sustain in the near-term. The situation will change when FPIs turn buyers in India,” Vijayakumar added.

FMCG, banks lend support; metals drag

Both midcap and smallcap indices traded lower. Sectoral performance remained mixed in early trade. FMCG stocks rose over 1 per cent, while chemicals and banking counters showed resilience. Metal stocks emerged as the biggest laggards.

Banking and financial stocks continued to remain in focus after the Reserve Bank of India’s recent measures aimed at improving liquidity in the banking system and reducing funding costs.

Information technology stocks were also on investors’ radar amid easing concerns related to H-1B visas and ex-dividend adjustments in heavyweights such as Infosys.

HUL, Reliance, Nestle - Top gainers of Nifty 50

Among Nifty 50 gainers, HUL rose 2.36 per cent, Nestle India gained 1.72 per cent, Reliance Industries advanced 1.62 per cent, Tata Consumer Products climbed 1.28 per cent and ICICI Bank added 0.85 per cent.

On the losing side, Hindalco Industries declined 3.77 per cent, Adani Enterprises slipped 1.14 per cent, Tata Steel fell 0.88 per cent, Coal India dropped 0.80 per cent and Shriram Finance shed 0.64 per cent.

Around 2,728 stocks were traded on the NSE at 9.30 am, of which 1,423 advanced, 1,205 declined and 100 remained unchanged.

As many as 53 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 17 hit 52-week lows. Additionally, 44 stocks were locked in the upper circuit limit and 28 hit the lower circuit.

Midcap and smallcap movers

In the midcap segment, Adani Total Gas, Oil India, National Aluminium and Vodafone Idea declined 2-3 per cent, while Colgate, Vishal Mega Mart and ICICI AMC gained 2-3 per cent.

Among smallcaps, Afcons Infrastructure, Chambal Fertilisers, Urban Company and Tata Chemicals surged 3-8 per cent, while Netweb Technologies, GMDC, IFCI and Data Patterns fell 2-3 per cent.

Benchmarks ended higher on Tuesday, with both Sensex and Nifty gaining 0.5 per cent each.

Overnight, US markets closed mixed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 1 per cent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.3 per cent as momentum in the AI-led rally weakened, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.2 per cent higher.

Published on June 10, 2026