The Indian stock market slipped back into the red in Wednesday’s trade on June 3, as headline indices surrendered much of the previous day’s gains amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, making risk assets less attractive to investors.
Persistently elevated crude oil prices and renewed weakness in domestic equities kept market sentiment under pressure, with the Nifty 50 eventually closing 0.33% lower at the 23,405 level. The Sensex also ended the session 0.41% lower at 74,343.
The broader markets mirrored the weak trend, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices ending with losses of up to 0.46%.
Tensions in the Middle East continued to intensify even as US President Donald Trump expressed optimism over a potential peace agreement. According to the US Central Command, Iran launched ballistic missiles toward Bahrain, Kuwait, and other regional targets, though several were reportedly intercepted or failed to hit their intended locations.
The strikes came after semi-official Iranian news agencies reported that Tehran had halted communication with mediators regarding the extension of a ceasefire in the conflict involving the US and Israel. Meanwhile, US forces reportedly carried out strikes on Qeshm Island in response to attempted attacks by Iran.
The latest escalation has renewed concerns that disruptions to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz could persist, keeping crude oil prices elevated, with Brent crude hovering within striking distance of the $100-per-barrel mark.
Tech sell-off drags market lower; TCS leads losses
The three-day bumper rally in technology stocks came to a halt as most IT counters closed with deep cuts, with Tata Consultancy Services leading the decline, tumbling 8.4% to ₹2,242 apiece.
It was followed by Persistent Systems, Coforge, LTIMindtree, Tech Mahindra, L&T Technology Services, eClerx Services, HCL Technologies, Birlasoft, KPIT Technologies, Mphasis, Tata Elxsi, Sonata Software, and Oracle Financial Services Software, all of which fell more than 3.5%.
Select capital goods stocks also remained under pressure, with Thermax and PTC Industries declining 3.8% and 2.4%, respectively.
Extending its losing streak to a fourth straight session, PB Fintech shares dropped another 3.6% to ₹1,587 apiece. JK Cement also continued its downward trend for a second consecutive day, falling 3.6% to ₹4,878, its lowest level since March 23.
Other stocks, including Gallantt Ispat, Prestige Estates Projects, Sagility, Latent View Analytics, JM Financial, Dixon Technologies, Triveni Turbine, Jain Resource Recycling, Adani Total Gas, and Lodha Developers, also ended the session with losses of more than 2.7%.
