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Informist, Friday, Mar. 27, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian indices mixed; Trump defers attacks on Iran's power grid 

 

MUMBAI--0830 IST--Asian indices showed a mixed trend during early trade Friday amid unclear messages signals the US-Iran war. South Korea's Kospi fell over 3% tracking the fall in major US indices on Thursday. US President Donald Trump said he would hold off attacks on Iran's energy facilities till Apr. 6 at the behest of the Iranian government. Following this, the May futures of Brent crude fell 1.6% to around $106 per barrel but still remain 47% higher than their pre-conflict levels. The surge in oil prices since the start of the war have hit Asian equities hard, as most countries in the region rely heavily on oil imports from West Asia.

 

There have been mixed signals over the West Asia conflict. On Wednesday, Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs said Tehran no intention of negotiating with the US. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan fell 1.8% during early hours of the session. Japan's Nikkei was down nearly 1% due to the fall in shares of machinery and electronics stocks. Shares of Kioxia Holdings and Daikin Industries were down nearly 6%. 

 

In a client note, Citi analysts said if the conflict in West Asia intensifies, it could drag down global growth by 2% and push headline inflation beyond 4%, stoking the risk of recession, Reuters reported. "Asia, particularly Korea, Japan, and India, faces the most intense headwinds due to heavy reliance on imported fuel and direct exposure to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz," Reuters reported citing the client note by Citi.

Following were the levels of major Asian indices at 0817 IST:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
CSI 300 Index	4483.9969	0.14
Hang Seng Index	24895.18	0.16
Nikkei 225 Day	53145.33	(-)0.86
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3632.07	(-)0.29
KOSPI	5285.94	(-)3.2
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	4901.3	0.28
S P/ ASX 200 INDEX	8489	(-)0.43

(Shruti Nair)

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Equity Alert: Indices may open lower Fri on mixed global cues

 

MUMBAI--0818 IST--Benchmark equity indices are expected to open lower on Friday tracking weakness in their Asian peers and due to mixed global cues. Crude oil prices fell but remained above the $105 per barrel mark early Friday after US President Donald Trump said he would defer attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure for another 10 days till Apr. 6, as per Iran's request. In a Truth Social post, Trump added that "talks are ongoing" with Tehran.  

 

However, Iran has refuted Trump's claim, saying that it has not requested any pause in strikes targeting its energy infrastructure, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing mediators involved in ongoing peace efforts. The mediators also said that Tehran is yet to give a final response to US' 15-point plan to end the war. However, Iranian officials have told mediators that they are interested in negotiations but the country's leadership is yet to weigh in and give a final decision, the report said. The odds of success for a cease-fire remain low, with Iran and the US staking out maximalist demands that are unacceptable to the other side, the mediators said.

 

Further, Reuters reported citing an Iranian official said that a 15-point US proposal, conveyed to Tehran by Pakistan, was reviewed in detail on Wednesday by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran's supreme leader, who felt it served only US and Israeli interests. The proposal included demands ranging from dismantling Iran's nuclear program to curbing its missiles and effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources and reports.

 

The Gift Nifty is indicating a gap-down opening for the domestic market, Vipin Kumaar, senior technical and derivatives analyst at Globe Capital Market, said. "The pullback rally that started on 23rd March has reached the gap resistance zone 23450-23600 spot levels created while falling on 19th March. A sustained trading below 23000 (points), could drag it (Nifty 50) towards 22500 and lower levels in the near term," Kumaar said. (Arya S. Biju)

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Equity Alert: US indices down Thu, Nasdaq ends in correction territory

 

MUMBAI--0735 IST--On Thursday, major indices in the US ended 1-2% lower due to a surge in oil prices as investors remain confused due to mixed signals on negotiations between the US and Iran. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the session in correction territory, down more than 10% from its Oct. 29 closing record high.

 

US President Donald Trump said he would hold off attacks on Iran's energy facilities till Apr. 6, extending the orginal deadline which would have ended Friday. Following this, futures contracts tied to the three major US indices rose 0.4%. Trump said, "Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well." On Wednesday, Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs had said Iran had no intention of negotiating with the US. 

 

At 0730 IST, the May futures of Brent crude were at nearly $107 per barrel, up over 50% since their pre-war levels. On Thursday, Trump said that neither the spike in oil prices nor the slump in the stock market were as bad as anticipated. Trump said oil prices were "going to come back down to where it was and probably lower."

 

The Nasdaq Composite saw the biggest fall among its peers, closing over 2% in the red. Meanwhile, nine of the 11 industry sectors in the S&P 500 fell Thursday, with the energy sector the biggest gainer, up 1.6%, while defensive utilities rose 0.2%. The communications services and the technology sectors were the biggest laggards, down 3.5% and 2.7%, respectively. The two indices were under pressure after verdicts against Silicon-valley giants Meta and Alphabet's Google in lawsuits over harm to children due to social media platforms. Shares of Meta ended nearly 8% lower, while those of Alphabet closed over 3% lower.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Thursday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	45960.11	(-)1.01
NASDAQ Composite	21408.08	(-)2.38
S&P 500	6477.16	(-)1.74

 

(Shruti Nair)

 

US$1 = INR 93.98

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.

 

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