Gift Nifty June 10, 2026: Signals Positive Opening for Markets on Wednesday Despite US Strikes on Iran Following Helicopter Downing

Mumbai, June 10: Domestic equity markets are set to open marginally higher on Wednesday, with the Gift Nifty pointing to a positive start even as fresh geopolitical turbulence threatens to test investor nerves. The United States launched new military strikes against Iran late on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said Tehran had shot down a US Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz — a fresh escalation that rattled global markets overnight and cast renewed uncertainty over a ceasefire that had barely held for 48 hours. Despite the heightened risk environment, early signals from derivative markets suggest domestic investors are likely to look past the immediate noise and take their cue from Tuesday’s strong closing performance on Dalal Street, where the Sensex and Nifty both ended firmly in the green. 

Gift Nifty 

The Gift Nifty futures contract for the June 30, 2026 expiry was trading at 23,273.50 at 8:01 am on Wednesday, June 10, up 89.00 points or 0.38% from its previous close. The reading suggests the NSE Nifty 50 could open approximately 31 points above Tuesday’s closing level of 23,242.10, pointing to a cautiously positive start for the benchmark index. While the gain is modest, the fact that Gift Nifty is holding in positive territory against a backdrop of fresh US-Iran military exchanges and overnight weakness in several Asian indices underlines the relative resilience of domestic market sentiment at current levels. 

Iran-US Conflict: Fresh Escalation 

The United States military launched targeted strikes against Iranian air defence systems, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday night, in what US Central Command described as a proportional response to the downing of an Apache helicopter and recent attacks on US forces and commercial shipping. President Trump, speaking to ABC News, said the response would be “very strong, very powerful,” and the operation — which began at 5 pm ET and concluded around 9 pm ET — marked the most direct US military action against Iran since the current conflict escalated. Iran’s state media reported explosions on Qeshm island and in the port city of Sirik, with sounds of blasts also heard near Bandar Abbas and Jask county close to the entrance of the strait. Tehran has continued to block most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — which normally carries roughly a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas — while Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports, keeping the energy supply disruption risk elevated. 

Asian Markets — Wednesday Morning 

Asian markets presented a sharply mixed picture on Wednesday morning as investors digested the latest US-Iran escalation. Indonesia’s JSX Composite was the standout performer, surging 7.57% to 5,746.65 — likely recovering from recent sharp losses — while Thailand’s SET index gained 1.44% and Australia’s S&P ASX All Ordinaries edged up 0.23%; Pakistan’s KSE 100 also rose 0.81% and Vietnam’s HNX 30 ticked up a marginal 0.05%. On the losing side, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.01% to 64,756.71 as the yen strengthened on safe-haven demand, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.94% to 24,335.75 and China’s Shanghai Composite eased 0.30%; Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa KLCI was barely changed at -0.02%. The mixed signals across the region suggest markets are weighing the near-term geopolitical shock against underlying economic fundamentals, with no clear directional consensus emerging ahead of further clarity on the Iran situation. 

US Markets — Tuesday Close 

US equity markets ended on a divergent note on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average eking out a gain of 0.17% to close at 50,872.11 and the NYSE Composite rising a solid 0.68% to 23,381.09, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite bore the brunt of selling, falling 0.97% to 25,678.82 as risk-off sentiment weighed on growth stocks. The S&P 500 dipped 0.26% to 7,386.65, and the S&P/TSX Composite also declined 0.19% to 34,411.69. The split between the Dow’s gains and the Nasdaq’s losses reflects a sector rotation away from technology and toward more defensive and industrial names as investors recalibrated risk exposure ahead of the US military action against Iran that followed after market close. 

Oil Prices 

Crude oil prices climbed approximately 1% on Wednesday, rebounding from a seven-week low touched in the previous session, after the US military launched new strikes against Iranian targets and market data revealed another large draw in US crude stockpiles. Brent crude futures rose 83 cents or 0.9% to $92.29 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 68 cents or 0.8% to $88.97 — recovering after Brent had settled at its lowest since April 17 and WTI at its weakest since May 29 on Tuesday, when Iran and Israel’s brief halt to direct strikes had temporarily eased supply fears.  

Indian Markets — Tuesday Close 

Indian benchmark indices closed on a firm note on Tuesday, with the BSE Sensex advancing 394.50 points or 0.54% to settle at 73,918.76 and the NSE Nifty 50 gaining 119.10 points or 0.52% to close at 23,242.10, reclaiming the psychologically important 23,200 mark. The rally was led by banking, financial and realty stocks, with the Nifty PSU Bank index surging 3.6% as investors cheered the Reserve Bank of India’s publication of guidelines for recently announced measures aimed at attracting foreign currency inflows and supporting the rupee. Market breadth was decisively positive, with 2,694 stocks advancing against 1,343 declines and 175 ending unchanged, reinforcing the broad-based nature of Tuesday’s recovery. 

Source

• nseindia.com