Gift Nifty Points to Flat-to-Weak Start on Friday; Iran War Escalation, Oil Above $100 Shake Sentiment

 Mumbai, July 24: Indian markets will open flat-weak on Friday with Gift Nifty lacking conviction following a week where war on Iran stopped being the ‘known’ risk factor and became markets’ sole focus story. The July 28 futures contract was last trading at 23,657.00, down 19.50 points or 0.08 per cent. 

With Thursday’s attack by Iran’s Houthi proxies on two Saudi oil tankers at the strategic chokepoint of the Red Sea, the war is no longer confined to Hormuz. On Thursday evening, US President Donald Trump promised ‘major military punishment’ against Iran and its proxies in the region, after tanks at two Saudi oil tankers. The attack effectively shut down Bab el-Mandeb strait, posing concerns of shipping through Suez Canal coming under attack from Yemen-based Houthis. 

Global markets are starting to price it too. Thursday saw Wall Street fall across the board, with the Nasdaq down more than 2 per cent. Asian markets extended declines into Friday, led by Japan’s Nikkei which was off more than 2.7 per cent, with the Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index (KSE 100) and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also trading sharply lower. Against this backdrop, even a flat Gift Nifty print should be interpreted as muted resilience among local participants rather than bullish reassurance that the worst may be over. 

Gift Nifty Today’s Figures 

Gift Nifty contracts for July 28 expiry were trading at 23,657.00 as of 8.11 am on Friday, down 19.50 points or 0.08 per cent. The marginal drop signals a flat-to-weak start to trade on Dalal Street Friday. Gift Nifty’s muted trade comes even as its Asian peers trade sharply lower and crude prices continue to trade above $99 a barrel. 

Oil Prices Today 

Oil prices were set to gain sharply on the week even as they edged lower Friday, with Brent crude futures down 72 cents or 0.72 per cent at $99.97 per barrel, on track for a weekly gain of 13.5 per cent. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 70 cents or 0.76 per cent at $91.49 per barrel, heading for a weekly rise of nearly 11 per cent. Both benchmarks surged on Thursday, with Brent settling 7 per cent higher and WTI climbing 6.2 per cent to take Brent above $100 a barrel for the first time since May after Houthi rebels claimed attacks on two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. Oil prices were also supported after Kazakhstan said it would temporarily reduce production following the shutdown of its main export route. 

Asian Shares Friday 

Asian markets traded sharply lower on Friday morning after Kuwait’s stock exchange extended declines into its fourth session. Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.79 per cent, while Pakistan’s KSE 100 lost 1.54 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 1.15 per cent. China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 1.08 per cent and Australia’s All Ordinaries fell 1 per cent, while Malaysia’s KLCI and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite shed 0.43 per cent and 0.30 per cent, respectively. Vietnam’s HNX 30 Index bucked the regional downtrend, gaining 0.99 per cent. 

US Stocks Thursday 

Wall Street ended sharply lower on Thursday as escalation in Red Sea dampened investor sentiment and worries about rising crude prices. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.15 per cent to 25,137.69, while the S&P 500 sank 1.21 per cent to 7,408.30 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 506.93 points or 0.97 per cent to 51,711.65. Mexico’s IPC slipped 1.54 per cent and Canada’s TSX Composite declined 0.82 per cent, while NYSE Composite Index was the relative outperformer, closing down just 0.19 per cent. The broad losses saw Thursday’s decline one of the sharpest single-day drops for US markets since tensions began heating up over war with Iran. 

Iran Crisis Developments 

Iran launched retaliatory strikes against US bases and interests in Jordan and Kuwait on Friday morning local time in retaliation to the US military’s 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets. Trump has promised ‘major military punishment’ against Iran and its Houthi proxies in Yemen following the attack on two Saudi oil tankers at the Red Sea’s strategic Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint. Trump told Axios Friday he was poised to greenlight major combat operations against Iran and said Tehran had not “received enough pain yet”. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have also declared naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, raising concerns about Bab el-Mandeb Strait being compromised as a second shipping chokepoint alongside the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil transits and is already largely shut. While the US House approved resolution ordering Trump to end military operations against Iran Thursday evening, the Senate blocked resolution late Thursday. Investors will now turn their attention to ceasefire negotiations scheduled later in the day. 

Sensex and Nifty Thursday’s Closing Figures 

The Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued their losing ways for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday. The Sensex dropped 363.66 points or 0.47 per cent to close at 76,391.39, while the Nifty fell 126.65 points or 0.53 per cent to end Thursday’s session at 23,869.60. Asian stocks struggled as heightened geopolitical tensions from Middle East crisis capped any optimism surrounding Friday’s US-China trade talks. Investors remained jittery with 1,569 shares advancing while 2,479 declined on BSE, while 155 stocks ended unchanged. The Nifty midcap and smallcap indices each dropped around 1 per cent. Investors also remained focussed on the earnings season for stock-specific opportunities. 

Source

• nseindia.com
• https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/houthis-say-they-attacked-saudi-tankers-red-sea-threatening-new-chokepoint-iran-2026-07-23/
• https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-set-weekly-rise-amid-red-sea-shipping-attacks-kazakhstan-output-cuts-2026-07-24/
• https://www.reuters.com/markets/stocks/asia-pacific/