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Indian equity benchmarks began Thursday's session with modest gains but reflected a cautious tone, as escalating tensions between Iran and the United States kept investor sentiment subdued. Weakness across global markets added to the uncertain environment, limiting early upside momentum.

At the opening bell, the Nifty 50 index was up slightly at 25,164.45, adding 23.05 points or 0.09 per cent. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex also edged higher, starting the day at 82,571.67, up 56.53 points or 0.07 per cent. The lukewarm performance of headline indices mirrored the cautious mood among investors wary of unfolding geopolitical developments.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, weighed in on the tense global backdrop. Speaking to ANI, he said, "Geopolitical concerns are at Centre stage today with both the US and Iran taking strident positions ahead of the meeting over the weekend. This is again noise, as we have seen repeatedly over the last few weeks, with an imminent Israeli strike on Iran being a big risk."

He added, "We feel this is noise ahead of the third round of talks, in a bid to get the most favourable negotiation terms by both sides. An attack on Iran will plunge the entire region into a massive retaliation chaos, and no sane government will want that to happen, including the Chinese and Russian allies of Iran."

Despite the marginal rise in key indices, the broader market was under pressure. The Nifty Next 50 dipped 0.02 per cent shortly after trading commenced. Small- and mid-cap indices also traded in negative territory, with the Nifty Smallcap index losing 0.05 per cent and the Nifty Midcap index shedding 0.06 per cent.

Sectoral performance was mixed in early trade. Nifty Media and Nifty Pharma stood out as the only gainers, while other indices saw declines. Nifty IT led the losses with a 0.43 per cent fall, followed by Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty, which were down 0.25 per cent and 0.21 per cent, respectively. The Nifty FMCG index remained largely unchanged.

Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, highlighted a cautious technical outlook. "Technically speaking, yesterday's candle was a doji with a slightly longer upper shadow immediately following the 'upside-gap two crows' pattern, so the onus is on bulls to protect 25029 in the near-term. If bears are able to drag the index below the 24987 - 25029 zone, a test of the 24800 - 24863 area will become a high probability event," he said.

Asian equities offered no clear direction. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.56 per cent, and Taiwan’s benchmark index dropped 0.8 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi, however, bucked the trend with a 0.9 per cent gain, offering some positivity in an otherwise cautious regional session.