Gift Nifty Close, June 29, 2026: Index Slips 140 points to 23,955.50, Signals a Cautious-to-Negative Open for Markets on Tuesday

Mumbai, June 29: Markets may open on a cautious-to-negative note on Tuesday (June 30) with Gift Nifty posting a sharp decline of 140 points or 0.58 per cent at 23,955.50 during the Monday evening session. 

The June 30, 20 futures contract traded within the tight 24,050–24,100 range for most of the morning session, comfortably holding above 24,000. But sometime after 9 am, Gift Nifty began to tumble down to an intraday low of 23,941.50, dropping roughly 150 points almost overnight. It recovered marginally to close near the lows at 23,955.50 by 3:30 PM. 

Higher timeline July contract, which expires on July 28, 20 traded at 23,981.50, down 185.50 points or 0.77% suggesting that there is broader uncertainty toward near-term price discovery beyond the gyrations of Monday’s session alone. 

Gift Nifty Intraday Chart 

Gift Nifty future opened at 24,062 and traded as high as 24,139 in the first hour of trade. This quick rally indicated markets started off Monday mildly positive with traders perhaps feeling confident after Friday’s closing price momentum carried over into Monday’s session. The near-month contract traded sideways in a 24,050 – 24,100 range for a couple of hours which did well to keep the contract comfortably above psychological resistance at 24,000. 

At around 9: 00 AM, Gift Nifty sharply reversed course to the downside, falling quickly in a nearly vertical manner and then tanking to an intraday low at 23,941.50. This is the lowest Gift Nifty has traded at during Monday’s session so far. 

Gift Nifty eventually recovered a few points and closed near 23,955.50 not too far off its session lows. The prolonged calm that lasted for most of Monday’s morning session followed by a late morning liquidity plunge suggests that Monday’s selling may have been triggered by a one-off event or a negative change in risk-sentiment among international investors rather than a large group of traders suddenly deciding to sell their positions. 

Uncertainty Over Iran Ceasefire Fuels Late Sell-off 

Gift Nifty’s late-session fall and broader risk-off move in Indian equities echoed increasing trepidation in global markets surrounding two key areas of near-term uncertainty. 

First, and perhaps most important, is the ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran. Tensions between Iran and the US have cooled off significantly over the last week, fuelling a multi-session winning streak for Indian equity markets. 

But now that a ceasefire framework for both countries has been established, investors are beginning to question how this diplomatic victory can be successfully implemented on the ground. Any negative headlines surrounding internal sabotage from Trump hardliners, Iranian conservatives, or pre-emptive Israeli strikes could very well wipe out the “ceasefire premium” that equity markets have been pricing into their valuations as of late. 

Second, the risk-off mood also has something to do with comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his team during their most recent FOMC meeting. While the Fed did ease interest rates by 25 basis points during its last meeting, markets had been expecting at least a 50-basis point cut. 

As such, Fed made a decidedly hawkish move by suggesting there will be less rate cuts in the future than markets had originally anticipated. Although the Fed’s forward guidance has little to do with Iran, its mere presence continues to weigh on risk assets as traders remain uncertain of whether the Fed will cut rates further in July. 

Because of these two risk events, Indian markets are expected to open with a sense of caution Tuesday. Should selling continue into Tuesday’s morning session, Nifty 50 is likely to test support levels around 23,900–23,950. 

Of course, if drastic news emerges Monday night or early Tuesday that alters the status quo, drives Iranian-US relations closer to harmony, changes the Fed’s tone to more dovish, ignites a strong risk-on move in Asian markets, or triggers something significant on the domestic policy front , Nifty 50’s trajectory can change very quickly depending on how domestic and global markets react to the news.