Oil price spike, US attacks Iran, Asian shares drop: Key things to know before opening bell on June 23

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to stage a gap down opening on Monday, June 23, as indicated by NIFTY futures traded at Gift City in Ahmedabad. NIFTY futures at gift City also known as Gift NIFTY futures fell 0.55% or 139 points to 24,990 amid weak cues from global markets after US joined Israeli attack on Iran.

Asian markets plunge

Markets across Asia were trading with a negative bias as tensions between Israel and Iran escalated after the United States joined Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.52%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.78% and South Korea's KOSPI tumbled 0.7%.

Iran-Israel conflict update

The United States struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel’s war aimed at destroying the country’s nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe despite fears of a wider regional conflict.

Addressing the nation from the White House, President Donald Trump asserted that Iran’s key nuclear were “completely and fully obliterated.” There was no independent damage assessment.

It was not clear whether the U.S. would continue attacking Iran alongside its ally Israel, which has been engaged in a nine-day war with Iran. Trump acted without congressional authorization, and he warned that there would be additional strikes if Tehran retaliated against US forces.

Iran’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, warned in a post on X that the U.S. attacks “will have everlasting consequences” and that Tehran “reserves all options” to retaliate.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations called for an emergency Security Council meeting to discuss what he described as the U.S.’s “heinous attacks and illegal use of force” against Iran.

Gold, crude oil prices surge

Oil price in international markets surged on concerns that Iran my block Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and LNG trading route , in response to attacks on its nuclear facilities.

Global crude benchmark Brent jumped about 2.6% after surging as much as 5.7%. Investors were seen taking refuge in safe assets as gold prices also shot up.

Gold edged higher as the world waited for Iran’s response after the US joined the Israeli assault on the Islamic Republic over the weekend, risking a wider war that could push up energy prices.

The precious metal climbed as much as 0.8%, before paring most of that gain, after the US struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites. That spurred a flight to havens like the dollar and gold on Monday, while oil prices jumped sharply on fears that Tehran could attack Middle Eastern energy infrastructure or threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Bloomberg report.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth ₹7,941 crore on Friday, June 20 in cash segment while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth ₹3,050 crore.

In derivatives segment, FIIs bought index futures worth ₹118 crore and sold index options worth ₹22,365.62 crore.