The benchmark indices extended their decline for a second straight session on Wednesday as weak global cues, a sharp spike in crude oil prices and escalating tensions in the Middle East triggered broad-based selling. The Nifty tumbled below the 23,900 mark, recording its steepest single-day decline since March 2026. All sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red, with banks and financial stocks leading the losses, while the India VIX surged 26%, reflecting heightened market volatility. Renewed geopolitical concerns following fresh U.S.-Iran tensions and a risk-off sentiment weighed heavily on investor confidence.

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 1,677.12 points or 2.15% to 76,503.60. The Nifty 50 index lost 516.65 points or 2.12% to 23,882.05.

Reliance Industries (down 2.56%), HDFC Bank (down 2.41%) and ICICI Bank (down 2.23%) were major Nifty drags today.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index shed 1.74% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 2%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,070 shares rose and 3,211 shares fell. A total of 182 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, zoomed 26.03% to 14.68.

Numbers to Track:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2026 settlement surged $4.25 or 5.73% to $78.41 a barrel.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper jumped 1.03% to 6.761 compared with the previous session close of 6.692.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.5300 compared with its close of 94.9600 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2026 settlement fell 1.44% to Rs 1,43,300.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.07% to 100.85.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.97% to 4.573.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones futures fell 562 points, indicating a weak start for U.S. equities later today.

European and Asian indices declined on Wednesday as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions pushed crude oil prices higher and dampened investor sentiment. Airline and auto stocks led the losses, while energy shares outperformed.

The U.S. launched a series of powerful strikes against Iran on Tuesday night in response to attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command. Earlier, the U.S. Treasury revoked a licence that had allowed Iran to sell its oil globally following the attacks in the strategic waterway.

Investors are now awaiting the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's June meeting, due later on Wednesday, for further clues on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook. The minutes are expected to provide more details from Chair Kevin Warsh's first policy meeting, at which the Fed kept interest rates unchanged while indicating that further rate hikes may be warranted if inflationary pressures persist.

Overnight, Wall Street ended lower after Samsung's quarterly results and reports that China's DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip triggered fresh selling in semiconductor stocks. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.16% to 25,818.69, the S&P 500 declined 0.45% to 7,503.85, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.25% to 52,925.15.

New Listing:

Shares of Knack Packaging settled at Rs 182.70 on the BSE, a premium of 7.47% over the issue price of Rs 170.

The stock debuted at Rs 186, reflecting a 9.41% premium to its IPO price. During the session, it touched a high of Rs 192 and a low of Rs 180.25. More than 25.32 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Aequs surged 6.83% to Rs 259 on Wednesday, extending its two-day gain to 11.26%, after two brokerages initiated coverage on the aerospace components manufacturer with 'Buy' ratings and projected strong upside. A domestic brokerage initiated coverage with a target price of Rs 320. A foreign brokerage also initiated coverage with a target price of Rs 444.

Kalyan Jewellers India jumped 5.71% to Rs 375 on Wednesday as investors lapped up the stock after its recent correction. The shares had declined 8.59% over the previous three trading sessions and are down 16.53% in the last three months and 35.18% over the past year.

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) fell 0.80%. The company's board approved raising up to Rs 1,500 crore through a further public offering (FPO).

Innovision fell 1.87%. The company has secured an Rs 9.23 crore Letter of Award (LoA) from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for toll collection at the Vaddupalli fee plaza in Andhra Pradesh.

Marksans Pharma rose 0.98%. The company said that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Germany-based ABCnow GmbH.

Advait Energy Transitions fell 1.02%. The company announced that it has secured a Rs 51.62 crore turnkey contract from Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company (DGVCL) under the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana-2 (VKY-2) scheme.

3i Infotech jumped 4.18% after the company's subsidiary, 3i Infotech Software Solutions L.L.C., has secured an IT consulting services contract worth AED 17.65 million (about Rs 45.85 crore), from UAE-based Vedant Consultancy FZ LLC.

INOX India rose 4.35% after the company announced that it has secured multiple orders worth Rs 939 crore since 21 May 2026 across its businesses.

PC Jeweller surged 2.23% after the company announced that it has cleared all outstanding debt under the settlement agreement dated 30 September 2024 with two of its 14 consortium banks. The company said the repayments are in line with its objective of becoming debt-free in the current quarter.

Orchid Pharma surged 8.69% after the company has entered into licensing and supply agreement with Pharmasyntez JSC (Pharmasyntez) to commercialize anitbotic, Exblifep in Russia. The company said the partnership represents a potential opportunity of approximately $178 million over the first 10 years, driven by significant unmet clinical needs and large hospital procurement volumes in the Russian market.

Silver Touch Technologies rallied 4.12% after the company secured an order from Rites to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based detailed project report (DPR) appraisal & intelligence platform, PARAKH.

Initial Public Offer (IPO):

Kusumgar received bids for 3,89,70,820 shares as against 1,14,68,094 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:42 IST on 8 July 2026. The issue was subscribed 3.40 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 8 July 2026 and it will close on 10 July 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 398 and 419 per share.

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