Gift Nifty Points To Lower Start On Monday

Mumbai, Sept 4: Gift Nifty signalled a lower start for Indian equities on Monday, with the index trading at 24,010, down 58 points, or 0.24 per cent, as of the last available intraday price, pointing to a subdued opening for the Nifty when trade resumes at 9:15 am. The near-month Gift Nifty future, expiring September 29, had opened at 24,065.5 and touched an intraday high of 24,095.5, before slipping through the session to a low of 23,986.5, tracking a mixed set of overnight global cues even as the Iran war showed no fresh signs of escalation. With markets shut over the weekend, traders said Monday’s opening tick could still shift before the bell. 

Iran War Tensions Persist Over The Weekend 

The Iran war showed no major new escalation through Friday, but traders were unwilling to treat the relative calm as a durable de-escalation after this week’s exchange of strikes between US and Iranian forces. Markets continued to price in an elevated risk premium tied to the safety of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the corridor that carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, with no confirmation yet of a ceasefire. Analysts said the weekend would be closely watched for fresh developments, given how quickly sentiment had swung through the week on headline risk from the region. 

Asian Markets End Mostly Higher 

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Friday, led by a sharp 1.74 per cent rally in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and a 1.26 per cent gain in Japan’s Nikkei 225, while Pakistan’s KSE 100 and Thailand’s SET index also edged higher. Losses were concentrated in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite falling 0.47 per cent and Malaysia’s KLCI down 0.41 per cent, the region’s steepest declines. Australia’s All Ordinaries and Vietnam’s HNX 30 slipped marginally, while China’s Shanghai Composite eased 0.30 per cent. The mixed-to-positive close came even as crude oil prices stayed elevated and investors continued to monitor developments around the Iran war. 

Oil Prices Ease from Recent Highs 

Oil prices eased on Friday after their recent surge, even as the elevated geopolitical risk premium tied to the Iran war kept crude well above pre-conflict levels. WTI crude slipped 0.73 per cent to $90.63 a barrel, while Brent crude fell 0.46 per cent to $95.08. Murban crude posted the sharpest decline among major benchmarks, down 1.64 per cent to $103.00, while the OPEC basket price edged up 0.21 per cent to $98.50. Gasoline and heating oil futures also retreated, down 1.22 per cent and 1.42 per cent respectively, while natural gas inched up 0.51 per cent to $2.928. Mars crude was the standout mover, jumping 4.95 per cent to $108.64, and WTI Midland slipped 0.97 per cent to $92.24. 

Sensex, Nifty Snap Losing Streak To Post Gains 

Back home, the Sensex and Nifty snapped a four-session losing streak on Friday, with the Sensex gaining more than 360 points and the Nifty ending marginally higher near the 23,900 mark. Gains in metal, private banking and oil & gas stocks helped the market recover, although selling across auto, IT, pharma and realty stocks capped the advance. At close, the Sensex was up 362.57 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 76,515.43, while the Nifty gained 24.25 points, or 0.10 per cent, to settle at 23,897.70. The Nifty Metal index was the strongest sectoral performer, rising more than 1 per cent, with SBI Life Insurance, Tata Steel, HDFC Life Insurance, Reliance Industries and Trent among the top gainers. The Nifty Auto, IT, PSU Bank, Pharma and Realty indices each declined around 0.5 per cent, with HCL Technologies, Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finserv among the biggest laggards. Market breadth stayed positive, with 2,396 advances against 1,803 declines and 188 unchanged on the NSE. 

The Gift Nifty signal for Monday’s open is based on current macro and geopolitical conditions holding steady over the weekend. Should the Iran war, crude oil prices or global risk sentiment shift meaningfully before trade resumes at 9:15 am, the actual opening could differ materially from what Gift Nifty is currently indicating. 

Source

• NSEIX.com, OilPrice.com
• https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/vance-says-us-not-talking-iran-unless-they-stop-shooting-ships-2026-09-03/
• https://www.reuters.com/markets/stocks/asia-pacific/
• https://app.originality.ai/home/scan/55030524