Global uncertainty and profit booking dragged the benchmarks lower; while autos, private banks, and consumer durables managed modest gains, the rest of the sectors closed in the red.

Indian equity markets ended lower on Wednesday after early gains fizzled out amid sustained geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Investors will be watching the US Federal Reserveā€™s policy decision, which is due on Wednesday. 

The Sensex ended 138 points lower to close at 81,444, while the Nifty 50 fell 41 points to finish at 24,812.

The broader markets underperformed, with the Nifty Midcap index ending 0.5% lower and the Smallcap index down 0.2%.

The retail investor sentiment surrounding the Nifty 50 remained ā€˜bearishā€™ on Stocktwits. 

Nifty sentiment and message volume on June 18 as of 4:00 pm IST. | source: Stocktwits

Sectorally, except for consumer durables (+0.7%), autos, and private banks (+0.3%), the rest of the indices ended in the red. 

Hindustan Zinc fell nearly 7% after Vedanta offloaded a 1.6% stake worth ā‚¹3,028 crore in a block deal.

Vedanta ended 0.5% lower after its board declared its first interim dividend of ā‚¹7 for FY25-26. The record date has been fixed for June 24. 

IndusInd Bank was the top Nifty gainer, rising 5% after Nomura upgraded the stock to ā€˜Buyā€™ with a target of ā‚¹841, citing improved governance and strong earnings outlook. 

BSE shares fell over 1% after it announced a shift in the derivative contracts expiry day to Thursday, effective Sept. 1. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will shift its expiry to Tuesday. 

Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Infrastructure shares surged 5% after its arm, Reliance Aerostructure, inked a deal with French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation to manufacture business jets in India. 

Optiemus Infracom surged 9% after it announced a partnership with OnePlus to manufacture TWS earbuds and wireless neckbands in India. 

Mobikwik shares dropped 9% following the expiration of the six-month lock-in period for pre-IPO shareholders. According to a Nuvama note, approximately 3.8 crore shares are now eligible for trading.

Globally, European markets traded mixed, and Dow Futures indicated a weak opening for Wall Street. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com. <