Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 19 (ANI): Indian equity markets opened on a weak note on Thursday, as investors are cautious about the prospects of a US strike and the uncertain nature of Iran's response.

The Nifty 50 index opened at 24,803.25, down by 8.80 points or 0.04 per cent. Similarly, the BSE Sensex opened lower at 81,403.94, losing 40.72 points or 0.05 per cent.

Market experts have attributed the cautious sentiment to the possibility of an escalating conflict in the Middle East and fears of a direct US entry into the situation. If such a scenario unfolds, heavy selling pressure may be witnessed in global markets.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, told ANI, 'Markets are raising the prospects of a US strike and the uncertain nature of Iran's response to the same. Indian markets are also pointing to a negative open on these global developments.'

He added, 'Israel-Iran remains the big overhang on risk markets, with a US intervention being a big probability. That could lead to a spread in the scale and scope of the conflict, and Asian markets are in the negative this morning on the back of this.'

In the US, President Donald Trump held his second meeting in two days in the White House Situation Room with his National Security Council to assess possible options. While Trump's core MAGA base opposes US intervention in foreign wars, a broader Republican segment supports a strike on Iran.

However, Trump is cautious due to past experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the ongoing US focus on the Indo-Pacific region to counter China.

Back home, broader market indices showed mixed trends. Nifty Midcap 100 saw a slight gain of 0.07 per cent at the open, while Nifty Smallcap remained almost flat.

Among sectoral indices, selling pressure was observed in Nifty Auto, Nifty FMCG, Nifty IT, Nifty Media, and Nifty Metal, all of which opened in the red. Nifty Realty was the only index that opened in the green, recording marginal gains.

Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, said, 'Nifty finished 41 points down yesterday but the fact that the candle had a long upper shadow means the intraday highs just under the pivotal 25000 level were sold into aggressively, and that's not bullish behaviour. If we record a daily close below the 24,750 lows against the 24,950 highs, it will increase the risk of a deeper pullback toward the low end of the 24,600 - 24,800 zone.'

Asian markets were also trading in the red at the time of this report. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.65 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell by 1.7 per cent, Taiwan Weighted dropped 1.24 per cent, and South Korea's KOSPI declined by 0.34 per cent.

US markets were flat to negative on Wednesday, with the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged as expected. Fed Chair Jerome Powell mentioned in his speech that inflation may rise due to tariffs, and that the stable US economy and labour market do not warrant an immediate rate cut. (ANI)