Overview
- The US military launched airstrikes against Iran, which multiple outlets reported on Wednesday, saying the strikes followed attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
- Brent crude jumped into the mid‑to‑high $70s per barrel on the news, reviving concerns about supply disruption through the Hormuz chokepoint and lifting near‑term inflation risks for oil‑importing countries.
- Indian benchmarks plunged intraday, with the Sensex falling as much as about 1,700 points and the Nifty dropping roughly 500 points, while Pakistan’s KSE‑100 recorded multi‑thousand‑point intraday falls; selling was broad across banks, autos, oil and commodity sectors.
- Market volatility and trading volumes spiked and losses in market capitalisation were large as investors re‑priced geopolitical and macro risk, and selling accelerated after President Donald Trump said the interim truce with Iran was “over.”
- The shock compounded recent fragility from record rallies and profit‑taking and could tighten import bills, widen current‑account deficits, pressure local currencies, and test whether recent foreign inflows hold if tensions persist.