Indian shares edged higher on Wednesday after four sessions of steep losses, with gold and silver ETFs rallying on a hike in import tariffs, but overall gains were contained by elevated crude prices and persistent foreign outflows.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.3% to 23,450.25 as of 10:27 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex added 0.2% to 74,717.72.
Fourteen of the 16 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 1% and 0.9%, respectively.
The Nifty and Sensex have each shed about 4% over the past four sessions, as the U.S.-Iran deadlock pushed crude prices higher and heightened concerns over the broader economic fallout from the conflict.
“Surge in oil prices driven by supply disruption fears is weighing on sentiment, due to India’s oil-import dependence, contributing to the risk-off sentiment in the market,” said Gaurav Garg, research analyst at Lemonn Markets Desk.
A rebound after the recent slide is possible, but higher oil prices are likely to cap gains, two analysts said.
Brent crude, up 48% since the Iran war began in late February, hovered near $107 a barrel, raising concerns over inflation and the current account deficit in India – the world’s third-biggest oil importer.
Foreign portfolio investors have offloaded shares worth $23.14 billion from Indian markets, surpassing the record high annual outflows in 2025.
India raised import tariffs on gold and silver to 15% from 6%, according to government orders on Wednesday, as part of efforts to ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves.
The hike is positive for gold and silver exchange traded funds (ETF), as costlier physical imports could steer investors toward ETFs and boost fund asset values.
Nippon India Gold ETF, Tata Gold ETF, HDFC Gold ETF and ICICI Prudential Gold ETF jumped 4%-6%.
Tata Silver ETF, Nippon India Silver ETF and HDFC Silver ETF also climbed between 4% and 6%.
Meanwhile, jewellers such as Titan Company, Kalyan Jewellers, Thangamayil Jewellers lost 1.5%-6%.