Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth ₹3,831.42 crore on June 12, 2025, according to exchange data. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Nifty opened 1.6% lower at 24,473 points in response to Israel’s attack on Iran, but recovered gradually in the middle of the session, gaining over 200 points on June 13. By 1 p.m., Nifty stocks were trading at around 24,700 points. Sensex too was down 0.7% trading at around 81,116.3 points.

India VIX index which is a measure of volatility in markets were up over 7.56% in their most volatile session since May 8, 2025. Most of the Asian stocks were down by about 0.8% to 0.9%, with Japan’s Nikkei 250 trading 0.95% lower than the Thursday’s (June 12, 2025) close. China’s Shanghai Composite was trading 0.85% lower than Wednesday (June 11, 2025).

This is the second consecutive day of negative returns for the Indian markets. While global markets also began on a negative note, they quickly picked up pace with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones moving up by about 0.2% to 0.3%.

Experts say that more volatility may be ahead with geopolitical moves by various nations around, including the U.S.’s tariff pause nearing its deadline, the Israel attack and China among others. “The strike escalates Middle East tensions in a key oil-producing region, exacerbating existing pressure on global markets from President Trump’s trade policy overhauls.

On the trade war front, President Trump announced he will send letters to trade partners within two weeks detailing new tariff rates. He expressed willingness to extend the 90-day tariff pause, which is set to expire early next month, but believes an extension won’t be necessary,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities in his pre-market open commentary on June 13.

As stock markets become volatility increased with global tension, safer investment avenues such as gold and crude oil have become attractive.