Market Open Report Today, August 4: Sensex, Nifty Set for Positive Open Tracking Wall Street Records; Iran Talks in Doubt

Mumbai, Aug 4: Indian equity benchmarks are likely to open in positive territory on Tuesday, tracking a strong overnight rally on Wall Street where all major US indices ended sharply higher on Monday, with the Dow notching a record closing high. The upbeat mood on Dalal Street comes even as Asian markets traded mixed in early trade, with gains in Australia and Pakistan offset by declines in Japan and Hong Kong. Sentiment continues to hinge on the on-again, off-again US-Iran conflict, after President Donald Trump said talks were under way even as Tehran flatly denied that any negotiations were taking place or scheduled, keeping investors on edge over the fate of the war. 

Gift Nifty futures, expiring August 25, 2026, were trading at 24,648.00, up 55.50 points or 0.23 per cent, as of 08:19 am on Tuesday, signalling a firm start for domestic benchmarks. 

Iran War 

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that talks with Iran were under way, calling it a “last chance” for Tehran to sign a deal to end the five-month-old war, but Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei denied that any negotiations were taking place or scheduled. Trump later wrote on Truth Social that Iran’s leadership had asked for a meeting and that more talks were planned for the immediate future. The Strait of Hormuz remains the central point of contention, with Washington arguing the June memorandum required Iran to open the waterway while Tehran maintains the text preserved its authority over shipping traffic. The contradictory statements have left the prospects for a diplomatic resolution uncertain, even as signs of easing tensions helped lift oil and equity markets on Monday, with investors watching closely for any fresh escalation around the strait. 

Asian Stocks on Tuesday 

Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday morning. Australia’s S&P ASX All Ordinaries climbed 1.26 per cent to 9,294.40 and Pakistan’s KSE 100 jumped 1.20 per cent, while Vietnam’s HNX 30 added 1.48 per cent and Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was flat. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.66 per cent to 63,333.35 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.49 per cent to 25,881.86. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite and China’s Shanghai Composite also edged lower, down 0.03 per cent and 0.06 per cent respectively. 

US Markets 

All major US markets ended sharply higher on Monday as easing US-Iran tensions boosted risk appetite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 693.38 points, or 1.32 per cent, to 53,178.41, marking a record closing high. The S&P 500 gained 110.78 points, or 1.48 per cent, to 7,600.50, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 540.04 points, or 2.13 per cent, to 25,913.90. The NYSE Composite added 0.61 per cent, even as Mexico’s S&P/BMV IPC and Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite bucked the trend to close lower. 

Oil Prices 

Oil prices ticked up on Tuesday after a sharp selloff in the previous session, though a diplomatic resolution to the US-Iran war remains uncertain and Middle East supply risks persist. Brent crude futures rose 0.7 per cent to $84.39 a barrel, recovering slightly after tumbling 7 per cent on Monday to a three-week low. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.7 per cent to $80.95 a barrel, having slid over 5 per cent in the previous session to its lowest in nearly a week. Analysts said the move lower remained fragile, with prices vulnerable to a swift rebound should attacks resume near the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and gas once flowed before the conflict began. 

Indian Markets on Monday 

The Sensex and Nifty extended their winning streak to a fourth straight session on Monday, led by a rally in information technology stocks. The BSE Sensex rose 544.39 points, or 0.70 per cent, to close at 78,639.03, while the Nifty 50 advanced 390.70 points, or 1.60 per cent, to settle at 24,774.30, closing above the 24,700 mark for the first time in recent sessions. The Nifty IT index gained more than 3 per cent, with InterGlobe Aviation, TCS, Infosys, Shriram Finance and Grasim Industries among the top performers, while Sun Pharma, Apollo Hospitals, Maruti Suzuki, ONGC and Tech Mahindra were the biggest laggards. Barring the Nifty Media index, all major sectoral indices ended in positive territory, with 2,705 shares advancing against 1,496 declines. 

Source

•  nseindia.com