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Informist, Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian indices open lower as oil prices extend gains

 

MUMBAI--0843 IST--Asian indices opened lower as oil prices continue to climb even after the International Energy Agency said it would release 400 million barrels of crude oil to mitigate the impact of supply disruptions due to the US-Iran hostilities. The disruption in oil supply due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz hit Asian markets hard as most of them import heavily from West Asia. Wednesday, indices in the US ended mixed as the conflict in West Asia intensified. 

 

The Japanese index Nikkei 225 was down 1.5% and its peer Topix First Section was 1.6% lower. South Korea's KOSPI and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index were 0.8% lower each. Media reports said two fuel tankers in the Iraqi waters were hit by Iran. Explosives-laiden Iranian boats targetted two fuel tankers, Reuters reported. Post this, an Iraqi official told state media that oil ports "have completely stopped operations", as per the report.   

 

In an effort to mitigate the shortage of oil, the International Engery Agency announced its largest ever release of oil reserves. The body, which comprises 32 member countries, did not specify the timeline for when the stock would be released into the markets, CNBC reprted. 

 

Further, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US would release 172 million barrels of oil from the country's strategic reserves. The shipments could begin next week and finish after 120 days, CNBC reported. 

 

Despite these announcements, oil prices continued to climb. At 0807 IST, Brent crude May Futures were $98.66 per barrel, up 7%. Oil prices have risen over 36% since the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0745 IST:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
CSI 300 Index	4692.86	(-)0.25
Hang Seng Index	25738.89	(-)0.62
Nikkei 225 Day(-)	54289.54	(-)1.34
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3648.57	(-)1.36
KOSPI	5584.08	(-)0.46
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	4857.48	(-)0.13
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8620.80	(-)1.40

 

(Shruti Nair)

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Equity Alert: Indices seen opening lower as oil spikes to nearly $100/barrel 

 

MUMBAI--0814 IST--Benchmark indices are expected to open lower Thursday as crude oil prices continued to rise amid further escalation of the conflict between Iran and the US-Israel combine, with reports of several commercial vessels being attacked off Iran's coast. Major equity indices in Asia were also lower in early trade, tracking overnight losses in their Wall Street peers. 

 

Further, the US has launched a new investigation into some of its biggest trading partners, including India, after the Supreme Court struck down a key part of President Donald Trump's tariff policies last month. The probe into unfair trade practices under Section 301 could lead to new levies against countries including China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico by this summer, BBC reported, citing US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The probe could allow the US to impose import taxes on goods from any of the countries found to have engaged in unfair trade practices.  

      

Oil prices continued to rise despite the International Energy Agency's decision to release 400 million barrels of oil from its members' strategic reserves. The May futures contract of Brent crude oil surged to nearly $100 a barrel Thursday. The release of strategic oil reserves could fully offset the losses in supply due to the war, but only if the conflict ends soon, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing an analysis by Capital Economics. Despite the emergency release of oil reserves, the resumption of normal transit through the Strait of Hormuz remains critical for restoring stability to global oil and gas markets, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.

  

The March contract of GIFT Nifty indicates a lower opening for the Nifty 50 Thursday. At 0759 IST, the contract traded at 23735 points, over 130 points lower than the previous closing level of Nifty 50. "Going ahead, sustained trading below 23800 spot levels might drag (Nifty 50) towards 23400-23200 spot levels in the near term," Vipin Kumaar, assistant vice-president, technical and derivatives, Globe Capital Market, said. The intraday support for the index is placed at 23600-23500 points and resistance at 24000-24100 points, he said. Wednesday, the Nifty 50 closed at 23866.85 points, down 394.75 points or 1.6%. The BSE Sensex ended at 76863.71, down 1,342.27 points or 1.7%. (Arya S. Biju)

 

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Equity Alert: US indices end mixed as oil prices stay elevated

 

MUMBAI--0715 IST--US indices ended mixed Wednesday as the conflict in West Asia intensified. Two of the three major indices in the region ended in the red. Oil prices continued to rise even after the International Energy Agency said it would release 400 million barrels of crude oil from its emergency reserves in an effort to help mitigate the disruption in oil supply caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as hostilities between the US and Iran continued. 

 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was the only major index to rise and closed 0.08% higher, while both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 were down 0.6% and 0.08%, respectively. Notably, shares of software vendor Oracle jumped 10?ter the company's quarterly results beat the Street's expectations and it raised the revenue growth guidance for fiscal 2027, CNBC reported. The tech-major reported a revenue of $17.19 billion against the expectation of $16.91 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, CNBC reported.  

 

The risk of a prolonged conflict in West Asia threaten to keep oil prices elevated, which have risen over 37% from their pre-war levels. At 0728 IST, Brent crude futures were $98.11 per barrel, nearly 7% higher. On Tuesday, US forces sunk several Iranian ships, which included 16 minelayers, near the Strait of Hormuz, CNBC reported. Further, three cargo ships had been struck by projectiles off the cost of Iran, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations center.

 

"The longer the oil spike persists, the higher the downside risk to earnings and valuations," said Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays, in a note on Wednesday, according to CNBC.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6775.8	(-)0.08
NASDAQ Composite	22716.14	0.08
Dow Jones Industrial Average	47417.27	(-)0.61

 

(Shruti Nair)

 

US$1 = INR 92.04

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

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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.

 

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