West Asia risk has repriced global assets overnight. Brent's 2.6% surge to $94.28 — driven by US-Iran strike fears and Hormuz passage anxiety — is the dominant force arriving at Thursday's open, amplified by a 1.6% S&P 500 decline. Everything today routes through the US PPI print at 18:00 IST; consensus expects a deceleration to 0.7% MoM from the prior 1.4%, and any upside surprise hardens the global rate narrative further.

The domestic bid from DIIs — net buyers of 6,159 Cr on Wednesday versus FII outflows of 4,566 Cr — provides the counterweight. That DII absorption is what keeps Nifty from a deeper technical breakdown; prior session low at 23,185 and pivot S1 at 23,125 define how much of that cushion gets tested at the open. India VIX at 15.63 signals measured, not panicked, hedging.

The sector rotation is legible: FMCG's 1.05% lead and private bank resilience at +0.72% point toward defensives and rate-sensitives, while energy, metals, realty, and media absorbed the selling. Crude volatility complicates Oil & Gas positioning on both sides; the cleaner rotation remains toward consumer staples and financials as long as the OI wall at 23,350 caps the upside.