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Informist, Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

By Arya S. Biju

MUMBAI - Domestic headline indices are expected to open higher Tuesday with crude oil prices cooling down to $88-per-barrel level after hitting a multi-year high of $119.50 Monday. Oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump late Monday said he was considering seizing control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical transit route that accounts for nearly 20% of global crude oil and gas flows. Trump said he believes the war (between Iran and US-Isreal combine) is "very complete, pretty much" and that he doesn't have a message for Iran's new supreme leader, CBS News reported.   

"If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far," Trump said in a post on Truth Social Monday. The comments come as a spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Monday warned that oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz "must be very careful."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared that Iran's armed forces wouldn't allow "the export of even one litre of oil from the region to hostile parties and their partners" as long as attacks by the US and Israel continue. The comments pointed to a showdown over oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz, as President Trump threatened to escalate strikes if Iran holds up oil flow in the strait, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

Further, French President Emmanuel Macron late Monday said he's working with partners to prepare a "purely defensive" mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by escorting ships, once the "most intense phase of the conflict" in the Middle East has passed, ABC News reported. The route had been effectively shut since the beginning of the conflict between Iran and US-Israel combine, which entered the second week Monday. 

At 0755 IST, the May futures contract of Brent Crude Oil on the Intercontinental Exchange was at $88.71 per barrel. So far, oil prices have fallen around 26% from the high of $119.50 hit on Monday amid fear of major disruptions to global supplies. However, crude oil prices cooled towards the end of the session and closed at $98.96 per barrel. 

The G7 nations Monday said they are ready to take "necessary measures" to support the global supply of energy after the US-Israel war with Iran sent oil prices surging. However, a meeting of finance ministers of G7 countries and the International Energy Agency ended without an agreement to release strategic crude reserves, according to a BBC report. IEA member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligations, Fatih Birol, head of the IEA was cited as saying in the report. 

Overnight, major equity indices in the US advanced, with the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 closing around 1% higher each and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%. Most Asian indices also traded higher in early trade Tuesday, led by South Korea's KOPSI, up over 6%.   

Gift Nifty is indicating a gap-up opening for the domestic markets following a rebound in the global equity market, Vipin Kumaar, assistant vice president, technical and derivatives, Globe Capital Market, said. At 0803 IST, the GIFT Nifty was at 24380.50, over 30 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close. "On levels front, sustained trading above 24200 (points) might lead it (Nifty 50) towards 24400 spot levels. On the flip side, a fall below 23800 might drag it to 23600 spot levels," Kumaar said.  End

US$1 = INR 92.33

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

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

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