Gift Nifty Points to Flat-to-Strong Open for Markets on Wednesday

Mumbai, Aug 5: Gift Nifty futures opened lower but pared some losses on Wednesday, suggesting that Indian equity benchmarks may open flat-to-strong as markets track easing concerns over Iran- US conflict and rallies in Asian and US markets. Market participants are also awaiting the outcome of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the Reserve Bank of India later in the day, with most analysts expecting policymakers to maintain status quo on policy rates. Such an outcome, along with easing geopolitical risks, is seen supporting market sentiment at the open.

Gift Nifty Figures 

The near-month August 25 contract of Gift Nifty was trading at 24,742.00, down 12.50 points or 0.05 per cent, as per data available at 8:23 am IST on Wednesday. Gift Nifty was seen mostly tracking its own previous close during the session so far. Nonetheless, the level was well above Tuesday’s close of Nifty 50 at 24,614.90, suggesting that domestic index may open stronger even as Gift Nifty pared its losses on the day.  

Iran-US Conflict Developments  

Mediators were making progress towards ending the five-month-old Iran-US war and Tehran dismissed President Donald Trump’s assertion that indirect talks have already started. Trump spoke by phone with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani who stressed adherence to a June memorandum between Tehran and Washington’s allies in Gulf that halted the conflict briefly. Iran’s foreign ministry said talks with Oman on ensuring safe shipping lanes through the Strait were continuing and described as positive while US officials Rubio and Bessent said reopening Hormuz could happen within days. The Strait of Hormuz, which is vital for global oil supply, remained virtually shut, with a cargo ship attacked while passing through it on Tuesday and an Indian vessel reported hit near Yemeni waters in two incidents shortly after a senior US admiral warned Tehran would pay a heavy price for its attack on two tankers earlier this month. On Iran’s part, foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said that Tehran’s decisions about the Strait of Hormuz are its own and “no one should expect Iran to wait indefinitely.”  

Asian Markets on Wednesday Morning  

Asian markets were trading mixed to higher on Wednesday morning, extending overnight gains on Wall Street and tracking easing geopolitical risks. Nikkei 225 of Japan jumped 3.08 per cent to 65,926.53 during the morning session in Asia, followed by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng which rose 0.31 per cent and Shanghai’s SSE Composite which climbed 0.53 per cent. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite advanced 1.37 per cent and Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa KLCI gained 1.10 per cent. Pakistan’s KSE 100 and Philippines’ PSEi bucked the trend to trade lower.  

US Markets on Tuesday  

Wall Street’s main indexes surged on Tuesday as investors cheered reports that suggested that indirect talks to end the Iran-US war were making progress. The S&P 500 climbed 1.79 per cent to 7,736.52, while Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.59 per cent to 26,584.99. Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.71 per cent to 54,085.88, while the broader NYSE Composite rose 0.85 per cent. The main US indexes pared some gains towards the closing bell after Trump said in a tweet that Iran should never have nuclear weapons and hinted at the upcoming oil sale report that may further push up crude oil prices. However, markets shrugged off concerns surrounding comments on crude and stayed focused on developments surrounding Iran-US war.  

Crude Oil Prices  

Oil prices were little changed to higher on Wednesday, snapping steep declines from the previous two sessions, after Qatar said mediation was making progress to end the Iran-US war. Brent crude futures rose 26 cents, or 0.33 per cent, to 79.62 dollars a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was trading up 12 cents, or 0.16 per cent, at 75.90 dollars a barrel. Brent had ended Tuesday down over 5 per cent after Qatar’s comments on Iran-US conflict deescalation and fell over 2 per cent on Monday to settle below 80 dollars a barrel for the first time since July 13. Reuters reported that Iran will never accept the US having control over the Strait of Hormuz, while analysts suspected whether US would accept such an outcome from Iran.  

Sensex, Nifty on Tuesday  

Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 settled lower on Tuesday, invalidating a key technical indicator and ending a four-day winning streak. Benchmark indices erased partial gains from the previous session and fell towards the closing bell following the exchange’s decision to introduce new closing-auction mechanism for F&O stocks with effect from August 5, 2020. Sensex declined 210.08 points or 0.27 per cent to 78,428.95, while Nifty 50 fell 159.40 points or 0.64 per cent to 24,614.90. The market traded volatile for the bulk of the session on the back of cautious investor sentiment ahead of RBI’s policy decision on Wednesday and knee-jerk reactions to rising crude oil prices. Moreover, investors stayed guarded as there were some rebalancing trades ahead of expiry of weekly Nifty derivative contracts on Tuesday. Market breadth was evenly split between advancing and declining stocks with 2,030 shares advancing, 2,037 declining and 174 unchanged. 

Sources

•  nseindia.com
• Reuters
• https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/
• https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/status-us-iran-talks-uncertain-ship-struck-hormuz-2026-08-04/
• https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-steadies-after-two-day-slump-investors-eye-hormuz-traffic-2026-08-05/