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Informist, Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

By Arya S. Biju

MUMBAI - After a rebound on Thursday, benchmark equity indices are expected to open lower Friday with crude oil prices continuing to rise amid further escalation in the US-Iran conflict. This comes a day after global markets rose following reports that Iran had signalled to the US Central Intelligence Agency that it was open to talks on ending the war. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi Thursday said Iran is "not asking for a ceasefire" from the US and Israel, adding that "we don't see any reason why we should negotiate" after nearly a week of war, CNBC reported. Araghchi also said that Iran is "confident" that it can confront the US military if President Donald Trump decides to invade the nation with ground troops. Earlier this week, Trump had indicated that the conflict may last four to five weeks. 

Israel and the US on Saturday jointly attacked Iran, killing hundreds, including the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei. Iran has since retaliated against Israel and targeted US military facilities around the Persian Gulf. In the latest in the series, Israel launched strikes in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, reports said. 

Crude oil prices jumped Thursday, with the West Texas Intermediate crude futures surpassing $80 per barrel level, after Iran said it hit an oil tanker with a missile. After touching $86 per barrel level intraday, the May futures contract of Brent Crude Oil settled at $85.41 per barrel Thursday. At 0753 IST Friday, the contract was at $84.09 per barrel, rising over 8% since Monday. 

The US Treasury Department has issued a temporary, 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil to enable oil to keep flowing into the global markets, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on an "X" post. "This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran's attempt to take global energy hostage," Bessent wrote. "This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea," he said adding that they expect India ramps up the purchase of US oil.  

Overnight, US stocks fell as concerns over the West Asia conflict flared up again, with crude topping $80 per barrel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell 1.6% and 0.6%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.3%. Most stocks in the Asia Pacific region also fell in early trade Friday. South Korea's KOSPI was the key loser in the region, down nearly 2%. 

In the domestic market, foreign portfolio investors remained net sellers Thursday, selling Indian equities worth INR 37.53 billion. At the same time, domestic institutional investors net bought equities worth nearly INR 51.53 billion. 

The futures contract of Gift Nifty indicates that the Nifty 50 may open lower. At 0755 IST, the March contract of Gift Nifty was at 24655.50 points, indicating an over 100-point fall from Nifty 50's closing price Thursday. "On levels front, 24300 (points) will continue to act as immediate strong support on the downside, while 24850-25000 spot zone will act as a hurdle on the upside," Vipin Kumaar, assistant vice president – technical and derivatives at Globe Capital Market said. News-driven volatility will continue to dictate short-term price movements, he added.   End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

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