The Prime Weekly: 26 October 2026

Wall Street’s major indices closed lower on Friday as profit booking hit most sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined on Friday as the previous session’s technology-led selloff spread to other areas of the market. Brent crude surged to a six-month high amid rising fears that the US–Iran conflict could flare up again.

The Dow dropped 652 points, or 1.23%, to settle at 52,215. The S&P 500 slipped 0.52% to 7,623, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.21% to close at 25,955.

Defensive stocks also came under pressure, with consumer staples, utilities and healthcare sectors ending lower. American Express fell more than 3% after announcing plans to cut about 5% of its global workforce, citing the need to “prepare for AI.” Caterpillar declined about 2%, while Goldman Sachs lost more than 1%.

For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.7%. The blue-chip Dow rose 0.4%, marking its third consecutive weekly gain.

The 10-year Treasury yield was around 4.99% on Friday, up more than 4 basis points.

Brent crude prices jumped to a nearly six-month high amid reports that the US and Israel may be drawing up plans for renewed attacks on Iran. Iran has countered that it is prepared to strike back.

West Texas Intermediate futures rose 4% to settle at $103.44 per barrel, while Brent crude gained 3.1% to end the session at $116.72 per barrel, its highest close since late April. However, oil prices are trading lower today, with Brent futures falling 1.60% to $114.80 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate sliding 2% to $101.30 per barrel.

Investors are now turning their attention to a busy slate of corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest-rate policy meeting.

About one-third of S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report quarterly results this week, including Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon. Capital spending guidance from these companies will be closely watched by investors.

The Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged when it releases its policy statement on Wednesday. Fed funds futures trading suggests a 90% likelihood that policymakers will hold interest rates at the current target range of 3.75% to 4%. However, investors will look for clues on whether the central bank could consider a rate hike at its December meeting. Traders currently price in nearly an 80% probability of a December hike. Along with the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan will announce their rate decisions this week, on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Wall Street is also increasingly focused on the November 3 midterm elections, which will determine control of the US Congress.

Asian markets trading mixed today with South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 trading with minor losses while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng trading with minor gains.

Coming to our markets, Nifty fell for a fourth straight session on Friday, shedding 87 points to close at 22,600. It was a highly volatile session, with the index swinging in both directions through most of the day. For the week, the Nifty declined in all four trading sessions and ended 2.36% lower.

The sell-off in broader markets intensified. The Nifty Midcap 100 plunged 2.21%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 plummeted 2.94% on Friday. For the week, the Midcap 100 fell 5.6%, while the Smallcap 100 crashed over 7%, its worst weekly performance since February 2025. From their recent peaks, the Nifty Midcap 100 has declined more than 13%, the Nifty Smallcap 100 12.1%, and the Nifty Microcap 250 around 11%, underscoring the depth of the correction in broader markets.

The rupee also weakened for a second consecutive session on Friday, depreciating by 12 paise to close at 94.94 against the US dollar. Higher crude prices and a stronger US dollar continued to exert pressure on emerging-market currencies, including the Indian rupee.

One Nifty company – Tata consumer and from the derivatives pack, APL Apollo, Ather Energy, KFin Technologies, Bank of Maharashtra, Mankind Pharma, Paytm, REC and Supreme Industries are scheduled to declare their quarterly results today.

Over the past two weeks, the Nifty has been forming higher lows. A violation of this pattern could accelerate selling pressure. Despite Friday’s recovery from lower levels, the broader bearish structure remains intact, with the index continuing to trade below key moving averages.

Friday’s low of 22,372 is the immediate support. A break below this level could drag the index toward 22,200. On the upside, 22,800 and 23,175 are likely to act as near-term resistance zones.

Nifty is likely to open with minor gains, tracking mixed Asian market cues and the decline in crude oil prices today.