Key Highlights

• Sensex climbs ~200 points and Nifty crosses 24,900, led by financial and auto stocks.
• Defense and aerospace stocks rally up to 3% amid Iran–Israel tensions, optimizing long‑term export outlook. 

The domestic benchmark indices opened lower on Wednesday due to rising geopolitical tensions, but turned positive in the early trade as buying was seen in the auto, IT, and PSU bank sectors.

While the Nifty was up 57.40 points, or 0.23 percent, at 24,910.80 in early trading, the Sensex was up 160.49 points, or 0.20 percent, at 81,743.79.

Nifty Bank had increased 33 points, or 0.06 percent, to 55,747.15. The index of the Nifty Midcap 100 was down 20.35 points, or 0.03 percent, at 58,358.95. The index of the Nifty Smallcap 100 had fallen 7.55 points, or 0.04 percent, to 18,412.80.

Following US President Donald Trump's demand for Iran's "unconditional surrender," analysts say, the market's expectations for a de-escalation in the Middle East conflict went down. According to market experts, Trump's recent posts and US military movements in West Asia indicate an escalation of the conflict.

However, there is no panic in global equity markets, and it appears that the markets believe that this conflict will end soon without affecting the global economy," said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited.

The top losers in the Sensex pack included Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, and M&M. Indusind Bank, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, Eternal, and TCS were the largest gainers.

"The Nifty encountered resistance at the 61.8 percent retracement level of the recent decline, and it has since corrected. Yesterday's high of 24,982 serves as the immediate resistance level on the way up. "On the way down, 24,550-24,450 will be a critical support zone," said Vikram Kasat, Head of Advisory at PL Capital.

On the institutional front, on June 17, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 7,796.57 crore, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers, buying stocks worth Rs 1,616.19 crore.

Also Read: War Ripple Effect: 3 Major Challenges India May Face from Iran-Israel Conflict

Asian markets that were trading in the green included Seoul, Japan, and Bangkok. Whereas Jakarta, Hong Kong, and China were trading in the red.

The US Dow Jones ended the previous trading session at 42,215.80, down 299.29 points, or 0.70 percent. The Nasdaq fell 180.12 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 19,521.09, while the S&P 500 finished the day at 5,982.72, down 50.39 points, or 0.84 percent.