Markets Likely to Open Flat; Iran War Update Hits Risk Sentiment

Mumbai, June 3: Indian equity markets are likely to open muted or marginally lower on Wednesday as renewed hostilities in the Iran war hit risk sentiment early on. The conflict between Washington and Tehran reignited on Tuesday, sending oil prices racing higher and hitting diplomatic talks dead in their tracks between the two countries. This news will likely weigh on sentiment at the opening bell.

Gift Nifty

Gift Nifty Futures for June 30, 2026, contract were trading at 23,472.50 on June 3, at 07: 31 am, down by 20.00 points or 0.09%. This indicates a flat-to-marginally-negative open for Indian indices on Wednesday. Although markets haven’t crashed, investor sentiment is on shaky ground following Iran war headlines coupled with rising crude oil prices and risk-off global cues.

Iran War

Gulf hostilities flared anew on Wednesday, with the U.S. military reporting that Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Kuwait and Bahrain either fell short, broke apart in flight, or were intercepted, while U.S. forces carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island near the critical Strait of Hormuz. The conflict, which began in late February following initial U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, has now stretched past three months with the Strait of Hormuz largely closed to maritime traffic — a significant disruption to global energy flows. Iran and the U.S. had signalled last week that a tentative initial agreement to halt the war was within reach, but the two sides have yet to formalise the deal, and Iranian media reported that Tehran had not communicated with Washington for several days. U.S. President Donald Trump pushed back on those reports, insisting that negotiations had been ongoing continuously, including in the days immediately preceding Wednesday’s flare-up.

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded mostly positive on Wednesday morning with most benchmarks remaining in green amid escalating geopolitical tensions between Iran and the U.S. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.47% or 1,648.72 points to 68,382.96; Thailand’s SET Index rose 1.26% and Indonesia’s JSX Composite climbed 1.11%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.02% to 25,773.30 and Vietnam’s HNX 30 Index dropped 1.87%. Malaysia’ KLCI gained 0.43% and Australia’s All Ordinaries Index was up 0.44%.

US Markets – Tuesday’s Close

Major indices on Wall Street closed in the green on Tuesday. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 228.91 points or 0.45% to 51,307.79; S& P 500 edged up 9.82 points or 0.13% to 7,609.78 and Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.03% to 27,093.90. Meanwhile, NYSE Composite climbed 0.62% to 23,480.92. Canada’ S&P/TSX Composite Index was among the top performers, jumping 1.25% to 35,169.46.

Oil Prices

Crude oil prices jumped over 1% in early Wednesday trade. Investors are worried about disruptions to supply after recent missile attacks between Iran and the U.S. Brent crude futures increased $1.05 or 1.09% to $97.05 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.01 or 1.08% at $94.77 per barrel. Both benchmarks posted their biggest intraday jump since May 18 following Iranian attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq. Additionally, U.S. domestic supplies fell for seventh week, according to American Petroleum Institute data released on Tuesday. Crude inventories decreased by 6.8 million barrels for the week ended May 29. Meanwhile, ANZ Bank’s Daniel Hynes pointed out that oil markets are unlikely to rebalance soon as Strait of Hormuz remains mined.

Tuesday’s Session – Sensex & Nifty Close

Indian equity benchmarks recovered from their morning losses to end higher on Tuesday. Sensex was up 382.50 points or 0.52% at 74,649.84 and Nifty 50 settled 100.95 points or 0.43% higher at 23,483.55 to trade above the key 23,400 level. Heavyweight IT stocks including TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra were among the top gainers on rebounding global expectations on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-led spending and likely recovery in technology demand. The broader market sentiment was positive with 2,222 stocks advancing against 1,803 decliners after Sensex snapped a four-day losing streak.

Source:

• nseindia.com