More Stories

Informist, Friday, Mar. 6, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

---

Equity Alert: Indices likely to open dn; crude prices up on US-Iran tensions

 

MUMBAI--0815 IST--After seeing a rebound 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 talk about ending the war. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that 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. 

 

Oil prices continued to rise, with the West Texas Intermediate crude futures surpassing $80 per barrel level Thursday, 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, the futures contract was at $84.09 per barrel, rising over 8% since Monday. 

 

As a measure to keep oil flowing into the global market, the US Treasury Department issued a temporary, 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, 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. 

 

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 points 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. (Arya S. Biju)

---

Equity Alert: US mkts dn on concerns over higher oil prices, inflation risks

 

MUMBAI--0744 IST--Indices in the US ended lower Thursday as the US-Iran hostilities threaten to push oil prices higher leading to concerns of inflation and doubts over future rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Other countries being pulled into the West Asia war and disruption of trade through the Strait of Hormuz remain a major concern.

 

The US-Israel war against Iran entered its seventh day and led to disruption in oil and gas supply. On Thursday, Israel attacked Iran-backed Hezbollah bases in Beirut, Lebanon. Brent crude oil prices have remained in the $81-$85 per barrel range this week. At 0743 IST, Brent crude oil May futures were at $84 per barrel, down 1%.

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 785 points, down 1.61%, setting it on track for its worst week since October 2025, Reuters reported. Of the 11 sectors tracked by S&P 500, eight were down. Industrials, materials, and consumer staples fell over 2%. Notably, shares of Caterpillar and United Airlines fell 3-5%. However, a rise in energy stocks helped limit the fall in the index at 0.6%. Chevron gained 3.9% on the possibility of higher revenue due to the rise in energy prices.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Thursday:  

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6830.71	(-)0.56
NASDAQ Composite	22748.986	(-)0.26
Dow Jones Industrial Average	47954.74	(-)1.61

 

(Shruti Nair)

 

US$1 = INR 91.60

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

 

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

NSE: National Stock Exchange
NYSE: New York Stock Exchange
NYMEX: New York Mercantile Exchange
SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India
RBI: Reserve Bank of India

Internet links:
Securities and Exchange Board of India - http://www.sebi.gov.in
Bombay Stock Exchange - http://www.bseindia.com
National Stock Exchange of India - http://www.nseindia.com
Directory of Indian government websites - http://goidirectory.nic.in
Indian Ministry of Finance - http://www.finmin.nic.in
Reserve Bank of India - http://rbi.org.in
Controller General of Accounts, Government of India - http://www.cga.nic.in
Government's Press Information Bureau - http://www.pib.nic.in

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.