The Indian equity benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, begin the new trading week on Monday, June 23, 2025, with a significant dip amid bearish global cues following the United States' entry into the Israel-Iran conflict, which has kept investors on edge. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened at 81,704.07, with a dip of 704.1 points, and the Nifty started the trading session at 24,939.75, declining by 172.65 points. In the last trading session, the Sensex closed at 82,408.17 and the Nifty 50 at 25,112.40. Similarly, the broader indices started the session in the red, with the BSE Midcap falling 209.62 points or 0.46 per cent and the BSE Smallcap index declining 172.20 points or 0.33 per cent in the early trade.
According to experts, the biggest concern for the stock markets is the Iranian parliament's recommendation to close the Strait of Hormuz. However, some believe that the closure of the Strait will harm Iran and its friend China more than anyone else.
"Also, if the war prolongs West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices could spike towards USD 100 a barrel and inflation risk in India will be back on the front pages as fuel prices move up drastically," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
Meanwhile, Brent crude traded 3.17 per cent higher at USD 79.45 per barrel at 6:27 p.m. ET. The US crude benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was trading up USD 3.18 at USD 76.19 per barrel in early New York trading.
In early trade, 623 stocks in the Nifty pack were trading in the green, while 1,490 were trading in the red. 135 stocks remained unchanged.
Asian Markets Today
Meanwhile, most of the Asian shares traded in the red as US stock futures fell amid rising tension in the Middle East. At the time of writing the news, Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 105,75 points and was trading at 38,297.48. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 31.66 points or 0.13 per cent. Similarly, South Korea's Kospi traded in the red with a dip of 12.27 points. However, China's Shanghai Composite was up by 5.17 points or 0.15 per cent.
How did individual sectors perform?
All Nifty sectoral indices traded in the red today. While the Nifty IT fell 1.21 per cent, the Nifty FMCG was down 0.46 per cent in the opening trade, and the Nifty Metal jumped 0.62 per cent.