Indian stock markets ended on a cautious note on Thursday, June 19, as frontline indices Sensex and Nifty 50 slipped slightly, while mid- and small-cap stocks took a severe beating. The BSE Midcap index tanked 1.64% and the Smallcap index plunged 1.77%, wiping out nearly ₹4 lakh crore in investor wealth in just one session.

The Sensex declined by 83 points or 0.10%, to close at 81,361.87, while the Nifty 50 ended 19 points or 0.08% lower at 24,793.25.

The sharp correction in the broader market was triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran, with US President Donald Trump warning that it might be too late for Iran to negotiate and teasing a major announcement next week. These developments kept investor sentiment fragile.

In parallel, the US Federal Reserve kept its policy rate unchanged at 4.25%–4.50%, while painting a worrying picture of persistent inflation and slower growth — raising global stagflation concerns. This particularly impacted Indian software and export-oriented stocks.

“Markets stayed rangebound with a negative tilt as global fears over US involvement in the Middle East weighed heavily. The Fed's signals of sticky inflation also dampened risk appetite,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Top Gainers on Nifty 50:

Tata Consumer: +2.14%

Eicher Motors: +1.71%

Mahindra & Mahindra: +1.58%

Top Losers on Nifty 50:

Adani Ports: -2.52%

Bajaj Finance: -2.29%

Shriram Finance: -2.08%

In total, 33 stocks on the Nifty 50 closed in the red.

Sectoral Snapshot:

Only Nifty Auto ended higher, up 0.52%. All other indices closed in the red:

Nifty PSU Bank: -2.04%

Nifty Media: -1.91%

Nifty Realty: -1.60%

Nifty Metal: -1.29%

Nifty Bank: -0.45%

Financial Services: -0.38%

Private Bank Index: -0.30%

Investor Wealth Erosion:

The total market capitalization of BSE-listed companies fell from ₹446.3 lakh crore to ₹442.5 lakh crore — a single-day erosion of ₹4 lakh crore.