Sensex Reverses 850-Point Decline to Close 300 Points Lower

Indian Stock Market Sees Losing Run Resume Amid Geopolitical Tensions

The Indian stock market resumed its losing run on Wednesday, 3 June, after a brief hiatus, although it closed significantly off the day's low, signaling some low-level buying by investors. The BSE Sensex closed the session 850 points off the day's low at 74,346.17, shedding just 304 points or 0.41%. It had slumped over 1,000 points in intraday deals today.

Meanwhile, NSE's Nifty 50 index also ended sharply above its day's low of 23,151. The 50-pack index settled the session at 23,406, down 78 points or 0.33%. The Indian benchmark indices have now fallen in five of the last six trading sessions.

The broader market trend was mixed. Nifty Midcap 100 index underperformed as it shed 0.40%. Nifty Smallcap 100, meanwhile, lost just 0.16%.

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Market Drivers

Investor sentiment remains cautious as the lack of meaningful progress in the ongoing US-Iran negotiations continues to fuel concerns over global energy supplies, inflationary pressures, and broader macroeconomic stability. Gulf hostilities flared anew on Wednesday, with the US military saying Iranian missile attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, and other regional targets either were thwarted or unsuccessful, as diplomacy between Washington and Tehran showed little progress. Lack of clarity on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz drove oil prices by over 1% higher. Brent futures traded at $97 per barrel today.

As a major oil importer, India faces risks of higher inflation, a weaker rupee (around 95+ per USD), and pressure on corporate margins, said Santosh Meena of Swastika Investmart. Moreover, foreign investors continue to offload Indian stocks in favor of other markets, creating pressure on the markets.

Market Performance

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Thirty Nifty 50 stocks closed in the red today as the market resumed its losing run. All top five losers belonged to the IT space as the index witnessed its worst daily fall since February 2026. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) share price crashed 8.25%, Tech Mahindra lost 6.45%, HCL Tech shares dipped 5.31%, Infosys stock 3.96%, and Wipro 2.83%.

Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals led the winners, with a 2.59% gain. It was followed by Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, IndiGo, Max Healthcare, and SBI, which rose 1.5% to 2% today.

Sectoral Performance

Sectorally, Nifty IT was the top loser today as it cracked 5.57%, snapping its 3-day bull run, due to profit-booking on an overextended relief rally. The market is starting to re-rate the traditional labor-arbitrage, billable-hour model as artificial intelligence automates parts of the delivery chain, believe analysts.

Realty, FMCG, Consumer Durables, Media, Metals, and Oil & Gas were among the other losers, declining up to 1.3%. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank were the lead sectoral gainers, rising 1.70% and 0.70%, respectively. Nifty Pharma gained 0.33%, and the Healthcare index added 0.54%.

Active Stocks

Vodafone Idea remained the most actively traded stock as 113 crore shares of the telecom player changed hands today. IFCI followed suit with 32 crore shares traded. Ola Electric (26 crore shares), JP Power (22 crore shares), and NHPC (17 crore shares) were the other most active stocks on NSE today.

52-Week Highs and Lows

81 stocks hit their 52-week highs today. Apollo Hospitals, Arvind, Ather Energy, Federal Bank, Vodafone Idea, IFCI, NMDC, Netweb, and Sky Gold were some of the names that achieved this feat. Meanwhile, 61 stocks fell to their 52-week lows today, including Bajaj Electrical, Emami, ICICI Prudential Life, ITC, and Patanjali.

Nifty Tech View

Bajaj Broking said that the index on the daily chart formed a doji candle with a long lower shadow highlighting buying demand at lower levels around the key support area of 23,200-23,000. Going ahead, the index is likely to consolidate in the range of 23,000-23,550. "Only a move above Tuesday high 23,556 will open upside towards the resistance area of 23,750-23,800 levels."