United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday (June 9, 2026) said that a U.S. military helicopter was shot down by Iran and that the United States “must” respond.

The Apache helicopter is the second crewed aircraft that Washington has confirmed was shot down by Iran during the West Asia war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter plane in April.

The downing and the prospect of a U.S. response pose the latest of a series of threats to a shaky ceasefire that has been in place since April 8, as the United States and Iran struggle to negotiate an end to the war.

In a statement, Mr. Trump said he had been informed: “that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.”

While the crew members were uninjured, “the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.” The Apache is an attack helicopter with a crew of two that is armed with a 30mm chain gun and can carry various other weapons, Hellfire missiles.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for U.S. forces in West Asia, said earlier that two Apache crew members “were rescued by American forces after their helicopter went down near the coast of Oman.”

“The Soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition,” CENTCOM said in a post on X. The command also said a naval surface drone helped rescue the downed helicopter’s crew.

Indian equities traded higher on Tuesday (June 9, 2026) in the morning trade, supported by improving sentiment after signs of a pause in hostilities between Iran and Israel.

Sensex rose as much as 0.7% or over 500 points to hit an intraday high of 74,035.41 in early trade, while Nifty gained 0.6% or more than 100 points to touch 23,259.45.

On the sectoral front, Nifty MidSmall Financial Services emerged as the top gainer, rising over 1%, followed by Nifty Realty, which also advanced more than 1%. Nifty Auto climbed 0.9%. Banking stocks traded higher as well, with the PSU Bank and Private Bank indices gaining up to 0.8%.

Category-wise, microcap, midcap and smallcap indices outperformed the benchmarks. Nifty Microcap 250 rose more than 1%, while Nifty Midcap 50, Midcap 100 and Midcap 150 gained up to nearly 1%.

Market volatility eased, with India VIX declining more than 4% to around 16.

According to market experts, the decline in Brent crude prices to below $94 per barrel is positive for Indian equities. They, however, cautioned that there is no certainty that the fragile peace between Iran and Israel will hold.

A U.S. federal judge striking down President Donald Trump’s H-1B visa fee hike is also a mild positive for Indian IT stocks, experts said.

“The bulls are too weak to stage a strong comeback, while the bears remain strong enough to press selling on rallies. The sustained selling by FIIs shows no sign of fatigue. Large-cap valuations are fair and, in segments like banking, attractive, largely due to FII selling,” analysts said.

However, elevated volatility and lingering global uncertainty are expected to keep traders cautious in the near term, they added.

Meanwhile, Iran and Israel said they had paused military strikes against each other following an appeal by U.S. President Donald Trump for an immediate de-escalation. However, Tehran warned that it would resume attacks if Israel continued targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.

Crude oil prices traded lower, with international benchmark Brent crude declining about 1 per cent to $93 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell around 1 per cent to $90 per barrel.

Asian markets traded largely in positive territory, with Japan’s Nikkei rising more than 1 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI surging nearly 5 per cent. Other major regional indices were also trading higher.

In the U.S., Wall Street ended in green overnight, with the S&P 500 closing 0.3 per cent higher and the Nasdaq settling nearly 1 per cent higher.

Indian equities opened sharply lower on Monday (June 8, 2026), with benchmark indices falling 1% each amid escalating tensions in West Asia, rising crude oil prices and weak global cues.

Sensex opened at 73,421.61, down over 800 points or 1.11%, while Nifty began the session at 23,080.70, declining 286 points or 1.22%.

Sector-wise, selling pressure was seen across realty, metal, auto and information technology stocks, which witnessed the sharpest declines. Realty stocks fell nearly 2%, while metal, auto and IT indices lost over 1% each.

Among Nifty constituents, Wipro, TCS, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance and Shriram Finance were among the major laggards.

Weakness extended beyond frontline indices, with broader market indices under pressure as Nifty Midcap 100, Midcap 150 and Smallcap indices declined close to 1% each.

However, market volatility increased sharply, with India VIX surging nearly 15% to around 18.

Analysts said the broader technical structure remains weak, with Nifty continuing to trade below key moving averages and maintaining a lower high-lower low formation, indicating persistent selling pressure.

They added that immediate support is seen around the 23,100-23,000 zone, while resistance remains clustered near the 23,500-23,700 range.

Investor sentiment remained fragile amid escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia after renewed Israeli strikes on Lebanon and reports of explosions in multiple Iranian cities raised concerns that the conflict could broaden further and disrupt crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said an agreement to end the conflict remained achievable and reportedly urged Israeli leadership to avoid further escalation.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices traded higher, with international benchmark Brent crude rising 4% to $96.90. Similarly, US WTI gained 4.64% to $94.75.

Asian markets largely traded in the negative territory, with Japan’s Nikkei falling nearly 4%, South Korea’s KOSPI plunging 5%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declining about 1%.

The Gulf countries of Bahrain and Kuwait were targeted in renewed aerial attacks by Iran early Saturday (June 6, 2026) after the United States said it had struck the Islamic republic.

The tiny island kingdom of Bahrain, home to the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, denounced the attacks against its territory and neighbouring Kuwait.

Manama said the two Gulf countries intercepted seven missiles fired by Iran and described the attacks, the second against both nations in three days, as “blatant aggression” and “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of both countries”.

Earlier in the Bahrain capital, an AFP journalist reported hearing three explosions and the interior ministry announced air raid sirens had sounded across the country.

In Kuwait, an AFP journalist reported hearing repeated blasts near the country’s international airport, which had been struck on Wednesday in an attack blamed on Iran that killed one person.

“We woke up to a huge explosion. The explosions were very loud,” Reem, an Egyptian mother of two, told AFP, referring to the Saturday attacks.

“My children were terrified, and I couldn’t calm them down,” she added.

In the hours after the barrages, Kuwait’s aviation authority announced the resumption of air traffic, saying 11 Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways flights had been diverted during an air space closure due to the Iranian attacks.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted “enemy bases” with missiles, after the US military said it struck radar sites in Iran and downed drones headed towards the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said six of the missiles fired towards Kuwait and Bahrain were downed, while the seventh “did not reach its intended target”.

The oil-rich Gulf countries, seen previously as a safe haven in a volatile region, have been in the direct firing line of the war, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes that wiped out Iran’s top leadership.

Despite a ceasefire in place since April 8, the Gulf states have been targeted in sporadic attacks during  weeks of talks that have failed to secure a deal to permanently end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

State-owned SAIL expects the ongoing West Asia crisis to have only a marginal impact on its steel prices and is establishing alternative shipping routes to ensure the uninterrupted supply of raw material from the region, a top company executive said.

The company buys raw materials, such as limestone from Dubai, Ashok Panda, the newly appointed Chairman of the steel major, said.

“So far as SAIL is concerned, we will have some impact with respect to the fluxes, limestone, et cetera, which we are buying from Dubai. So, the landed cost, the CFR (cost and freight) cost is going to go up, because it was around $23-$24, now it will be around $35,” the official said in reply to a question related to the impact of the West Asia crisis.

But overall, in sellable steel, its impact will be hardly ₹100 or ₹200, the chairman said.

Mr. Panda also said that in times of crisis, the availability of raw materials is crucial rather than their cost, for uninterrupted operations, and that SAIL is working towards tying up with parties to secure larger quantities from West Asia through diverted routes.

“It is more of a raw material security than a price increase. We are working towards tying up with the parties to get more quantities from the Middle East through diverted routes,” he noted.

Iron ore and coking coal are the two key raw materials used in steel making through the blast furnace process. While SAIL meets 100% of its iron ore demand from its captive mines, the company sources a major part of its coking coal needs from offshore markets, such as Australia and Russia.

Limestone, one of the fluxes used in steelmaking via the blast furnace route, acts as an agent to remove impurities such as silica, phosphorus, and sulphur from molten iron.

“And so far as fuel is concerned…concern was there in the fourth quarter, but we have come out of it by using PNG in certain locations and creating LPG banks in other locations. So, that’s not going to be a major challenge for us in the first quarter,” he said.

State-owned SAIL expects the ongoing West Asia crisis to have only a marginal impact on its steel prices and is establishing alternative shipping routes to ensure the uninterrupted supply of raw material from the region, a top company executive said.

The company buys raw materials, such as limestone from Dubai, Ashok Panda, the newly appointed Chairman of the steel major, said.

“So far as SAIL is concerned, we will have some impact with respect to the fluxes, limestone, et cetera, which we are buying from Dubai. So, the landed cost, the CFR (cost and freight) cost is going to go up, because it was around $23-$24, now it will be around $35,” the official said in reply to a question related to the impact of the West Asia crisis.

But overall, in sellable steel, its impact will be hardly ₹100 or ₹200, the chairman said.

Mr. Panda also said that in times of crisis, the availability of raw materials is crucial rather than their cost, for uninterrupted operations, and that SAIL is working towards tying up with parties to secure larger quantities from West Asia through diverted routes.

“It is more of a raw material security than a price increase. We are working towards tying up with the parties to get more quantities from the Middle East through diverted routes,” he noted.

Iron ore and coking coal are the two key raw materials used in steel making through the blast furnace process. While SAIL meets 100% of its iron ore demand from its captive mines, the company sources a major part of its coking coal needs from offshore markets, such as Australia and Russia.

Limestone, one of the fluxes used in steelmaking via the blast furnace route, acts as an agent to remove impurities such as silica, phosphorus, and sulphur from molten iron.

“And so far as fuel is concerned…concern was there in the fourth quarter, but we have come out of it by using PNG in certain locations and creating LPG banks in other locations. So, that’s not going to be a major challenge for us in the first quarter,” he said.

The Central government has revised export levies on petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for the fortnight beginning June 1.

The duty has been set at ₹1.5 per litre on petrol exports, ₹13.5 per litre on diesel exports and ₹9.5 per litre on ATF exports, as per an official notification.

However, the Centre has left excise duty rates on petrol and diesel sold in the domestic market unchanged.

According to the notification, the revised rates have been prescribed based on the average international prices of crude oil, petrol, diesel and ATF prevailing during the period since the last review.

The export levies were introduced on March 27, 2026, to ensure domestic availability of petroleum products by discouraging exports in the backdrop of the West Asia crisis. The last revision came into effect on May 16, 2026.

On May 16, the government revised export taxes on petroleum products, imposing a special additional excise duty (SAED) of ₹3 per litre on petrol exports while reducing the duty on diesel to ₹16.5 per litre.

The notification by the Ministry of Finance stated that the entry of ₹3 per litre shall be substituted for petrol exports, while diesel has been revised to ₹16.5 per litre. It further said the road and infrastructure cess has been reduced to zero on petrol and diesel exports. Domestic fuel tax rates remained unchanged.

Earlier, export duty on diesel was revised multiple times. It was first set at ₹21.50 per litre on March 26, then raised to ₹55.5 per litre on April 11. Later, it was cut to ₹23 per litre on April 30, and has now been further reduced to ₹16.5 per litre.

Similarly, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) followed a similar pattern. The duty was first ₹29.5 per litre, then increased to ₹42 per litre. It was later reduced to ₹33 per litre and has now been brought down to ₹16 per litre.

The windfall tax framework was introduced to ensure adequate domestic fuel availability and curb exports amid volatile global oil markets triggered by the West Asia crisis.