Indian equity benchmarks made negative start on Thursday mirroring weakness in Asian counterparts amid continued geopolitical uncertainty in West Asia. Geopolitical tensions intensified after Iran struck Kuwait International Airport. Sensex and Nifty trimmed most of their opening losses and were trading marginally in red in early deals amid buying at Consumer Durables, Capital Goods and Industrials counters. Though, persistent foreign institutional investors (FIIs) selling kept sentiments subdued. NSE data showed that the FIIs sold Rs 5,616.56 crore worth of capital market assets across the exchanges during the trading session on June 03, 2026. Market participants also avoided risky bids ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision on Friday.
On the global front, all the Asian markets were trading in red tacking Wall Street losses overnight, as tensions between Iran and the U.S. keep oil prices elevated, stoking energy and inflation worries. Back home, aviation-linked companies’ stocks were in focus after the Union Cabinet approved a one-time budgetary support package of up to Rs 10,000 crore aimed at stabilising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices for Indian airlines amid heightened fuel price volatility.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74210.03, down by 136.14 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 73807.30 and 74269.27. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.63%, Capital Goods up by 1.43%, Industrials up by 1.13%, Telecom up by 0.86% and Power up by 0.85%, while IT down by 0.79%, Realty down by 0.53%, Metal down by 0.43%, TECK down by 0.41% and Bankex down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 1.96%, Titan Company up by 1.55%, Asian Paints up by 1.46%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.82% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.52%. On the flip side, Trent down by 1.66%, Infosys down by 1.29%, HDFC Bank down by 0.94%, Power Grid down by 0.68% and HCL Technologies down by 0.65% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its latest Economic Outlook report has said that India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to grow by 6.3% during the fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) and by 6.4% in FY28. Rising inflation is likely to weigh on private consumption, while investment slows amid higher oil and gas prices and gas rationing. Employment growth and labour market participation are set to weaken. Inflation is projected to increase to 4.8% in FY27, driven by higher food, energy and fertiliser costs, and currency depreciation. The current account deficit is expected to widen, as higher energy import costs outweigh the impact of weaker domestic demand.
It also said that more persistent energy rationing could lead to weaker growth. On the upside, energy support could cushion real incomes and consumption more than expected. Fiscal policy is poised to turn expansionary in FY27 to mitigate the impact of higher energy prices, notably through subsidies. Moving from price support to targeted transfers could reduce the fiscal cost of policy support.
Following a period of easing, monetary policy is projected to tighten with a policy rate increase in early FY27 to help keep inflation within the target band. Streamlining and harmonising regulations would reduce administrative burdens, boosting productivity and investment. Accelerating the rollout of renewable energy sources would strengthen energy security and reduce carbon emissions.
It further said India’s crude oil and natural gas dependence on the Middle East is substantial, with crude oil imports accounting for about 46% of total imports in 2024 and natural gas for about 57%. Energy import prices have risen sharply in recent months, but only part of that has fed into domestic energy prices. Reductions in excise duties on petrol and diesel and the removal of import duties on selected petrochemical inputs, alongside export levies on refined products, have helped to contain the pass-through from international prices to domestic inflation.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23355.35, down by 50.25 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 23247.30 and 23366.65. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 1.80%, Titan Company up by 1.37%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.23%, Asian Paints up by 1.13% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Trent down by 1.60%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 1.42%, Infosys down by 1.31%, Eicher Motors down by 1.10% and SBI Life Insurance down by 0.82% were the top losers.
All Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 1087.13 points or 1.59% to 67,315.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 443.2 points or 0.95% to 46,015.96, Hang Seng declined 384.21 points or 1.52% to 25,249.00, Jakarta Composite plunged 238.43 points or 4.01% to 5,702.64, KOSPI dropped 109.01 points or 1.24% to 8,692.48, Straits Times fell 68.97 points or 1.34% to 5,069.27 and Shanghai Composite was down by 17.41 points or 0.43% to 4,066.56.
