Summary of this article
Equity markets rebounded despite fresh US-Iran tensions and geopolitical uncertainty
Consumer, pharma and realty stocks led gains, while IT stocks declined
Oil prices eased after early gains despite Strait of Hormuz supply concerns
Equity benchmark indices staged a strong recovery on July 9 after witnessing a sharp sell-off in the previous session as investors shrugged off renewed geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran.
At 9:55 AM, the BSE Sensex was up by 558.30 points, or 0.73 per cent, at 77,061.90, while the NSE Nifty 50 traded higher by 175.35 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 24,057.40.
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 1.64 per cent, and the Nifty Midcap 100 advancing 1.17 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, consumer durable stocks led the rally as the Nifty Consumer Durables index climbed 2.18 per cent. Realty shares followed with a gain of 1.84 per cent, while the pharma and healthcare indices rose 1.76 per cent and 1.74 per cent, respectively. Media index advanced 1.33 per cent and the FMCG index added 1.04 per cent. On the other hand, information technology stocks remained under pressure, dragging the Nifty IT index down 1.04 per cent, while the Nifty Metal index slipped 0.24 per cent.
Among the Nifty 50 pack, Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, emerged as the top gainer, surging 4.38 per cent. It was followed by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, India's largest drugmaker, which gained 2.56 per cent. Bharti Airtel, one of the country's largest telecom operators, advanced 2.38 per cent, while Jio Financial Services, the financial services arm of Reliance Group, rose 1.67 per cent. Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, a leading hospital and healthcare services provider, climbed 1.56 per cent. Other notable gainers included Nestle India, the FMCG major, Tata Consumer Products, the packaged foods and beverages company, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, the engineering and infrastructure giant, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries, the oil-to-telecom conglomerate.
On the losing side, Infosys, the country's second-largest IT services company, was the top laggard, declining 2.03 per cent. Hindalco Industries, the metals and aluminium producer, also traded lower. Other major losers included Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies, and Tech Mahindra, all IT services companies, as well as Bajaj Finance, the non-banking financial company. The weakness across frontline technology stocks continued to weigh on the Nifty IT index.
US Bombs Iran For A Second Consecutive Night
The war in West Asia intensified overnight after the US launched another wave of airstrikes on Iran, with President Donald Trump describing the operation as "in retribution for yesterday's bombing of ships by Iran." The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it struck around 90 Iranian targets to "further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz." Hours later, Trump said Iranian officials had called "just a little while ago" and wanted to make a deal "so badly," though he added he was unsure whether they were "worthy" of one.
Iran responded with retaliatory strikes on US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, a move later confirmed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The latest exchange marked the second round of US strikes on Iran within 48 hours, with the American military saying it had targeted 170 sites across the two waves of attacks.
The escalation has also begun to affect global energy markets. Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped sharply since hostilities resumed, according to Intertanko Marine Director Phil Belcher, as told to BBC, who described the decline as "dramatic." He said only around 30 ships were transiting the strategic waterway daily, down from about 70 a week earlier and far below the usual average of around 130 vessels, heightening concerns over potential disruptions to global oil supplies.
Crude Oil Prices Relatively Calmer
Crude oil prices spiked in early trade because the renewed West Asia conflict raised concerns over supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the initial gains faded by mid-day as traders assessed the evolving geopolitical situation.
As of mid-day, Brent crude was down 0.92 per cent from its previous close at $72.84 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 1 per cent to $77.25 a barrel.
Although the recent spike briefly pushed oil prices to their highest levels in the past two weeks, they remain only modestly above levels seen when the conflict intensified earlier this year and well below the nearly $120-a-barrel peak touched in April. Market participants are now closely monitoring how long the latest military exchanges will continue and whether they disrupt energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that carries around 20 per cent of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas trade.
