Sensex Opens 268 Points Lower, Nifty Starts Below 24,800 Amid Rising Israel-Iran Tensions

Stock Market News Today: Domestic benchmark equity indices opened on a weak note on June 18.The Sensex opened 268.68 points or 0.32 per cent lower at 81,327.61 levels. On the other hand the Nifty 50 opened 65.05 points or 0.26 per cent lower at 24,788.35. The broader markets also mirrored the benchmarks, in early trade as the the Nifty Midcap 100 traded lower by 0.29 per cent and the the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell around 0.51 per cent. While all major sectoral indices opened lower, the Nifty IT and Nifty Realty traded in the green, gaining up to 0.45 per cent in early trade.

Tensions between Israel and Iran have been mounting for six days as of today. U.S. President Donald Trump has also urged Iran to surrender. On the other hand Israel’s military has claimed that it plans to target locations in Tehran and has deterred two drones from entering Israeli airspace. Stock market across the globe are expected to factor in the situation which is unfolding in the middle east.

Gainers And Losers In Early Trade

Shares of private sector lender IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki India emerged as top gainers trading higher by up to 3.13 per cent in early trade. On the other hand Kotak Mahindra Bank, JSW Steel, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd led the losers in early trade as they traded up to 1.01 per cent lower. Notably 34 constituents of the index traded in the green in early trade while 16 declined, at the time of writing.

US Markets Close Lower

US market indices ended lower on Tuesday amid weak global cues. However the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined the most among key Wall Street indices as it ended at 19,521.09 down by 180.12 points or 0.91 per cent. On the other hand the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended the session lower by 0.7 per cent and 0.84 per cent respectively. 

Asian Markets Trade Mixed

Asian markets traded mixed as Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI traded in the green at the time of writing, up by as much as 0.66 per cent. On the other hand the Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng declined in early trade with the former falling as much as 1.19 per cent in the early hours of June 18.

Commodity Prices

In the early hours of June 18, crude oil traded higher extending gains from the previous day. Crude oil prices have been surging amid concerns regarding the ongoing Iran-Israel tensions which can potentially disrupt global supply chains. Brent crude traded around $76.651 per barrel up by $0.201 or 0.26 per cent. On the other hand the price of U.S. WTI crude increased by 0.31 per cent to $75.07 per barrel. 

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