Gift Nifty Points to Flat-to-Lower Open on Monday as Weak Global Cues, Rising Oil Weigh

Mumbai, July 20: Indian equity indices are likely to open flat-to-lower on Monday tracking weak Asian and Wall Street leads and surging crude oil prices. Gift Nifty futures indicated a tepid start to Monday’s session after Asian indices opened in red and Wall Street ended with losses on Friday due to worsening Iran-US tensions which has now sent Brent crude above 90 dollars per barrel. Expectations that domestic earnings will continue to support markets this week may limit losses. 

Gift Nifty futures for 28- July-2026 series traded at 24,298.50, down by 106 points or 0.43 percent at 7:56 am on Monday, indicating that the index may open lower when trading resumes later in the day. The futures contract erased most gains made during Friday’s trading session where it rallied over 300 points. Futures were last traded below Friday’s closing of Nifty 50 at 24,334.30. 

Asian Markets 

Asian shares slipped in early trade on Monday with Japan’s Nikkei 225 sliding 4.03 percent or 2,602.88 points to 64,141.12 on worries about heightened tensions between Iran and the US. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 2.39 percent or 585.91 points to 25,149.89 and Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index gained 1.65 percent or 61.93 points to 3,826.41. Pakistan’s KSE 100 Index was down 1.30 percent and Vietnam’s HNX 30 Index fell 1.61 percent. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index added 0.09 percent and Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa KLCI Index rose 0.41 percent. Australia’s S& P ASX All Ordinaries traded flat at 0.01 percent. 

Wall Street 

Wall Street ended with losses on Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining 0.77 percent or 379.93 points to settle at 52,146.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.40 percent or 401.36 points to end at 25,520.24 while the S&P 500 Index dropped 1.01 percent or 76.77 points to close at 7,457.69. 

Iran War 

Tensions between Iran and the US flared up again on Friday leading to weak sentiment in global markets. Iran-US tensions continued to worsen on Sunday for the ninth straight day with US Central Command saying it has conducted “precision airstrikes” to degrade Iran’s “capabilty to target US shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.” The US military has confirmed three American deaths in Friday’s renewed attacks which bring to 17 the US death toll since the start of the war with Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it hit a weapons storage facility south of Damascus. In the Gulf region, Kuwait’s Sea Helcogen -a desalination plant used to produce potable water- was attacked. 

The ceasefire which brokered by Trump ended just after a month leading to concerns about widening conflict. Brent crude has jumped above 90 dollars a barrel for the first time since 11 June. 

Indian Markets on Friday 

Indian benchmark indices traded sharply higher on Friday riding buying in information technology, banking and auto stocks. The BSE Sensex jumped 964.58 points or 1.25 percent to close at 78,151.45 and Nifty 50 advanced 261.55 points or 1.09 percent at 24,334.30 reclaiming the psychological 24,300 level. Market breadth was weak with more than double shares ending in red compared to those in green. 2,419 stocks declined as against 1,632 stocks gaining while 175 remained unchanged. 

Source

• nseindia.com