More Stories

Informist, Monday, Apr. 13, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

---

Equity Alert: Indices may open sharply down as oil up as US-Iran talks fail

 

MUMBAI--0811 IST--Benchmark indices are expected to open sharply lower as crude oil prices jumped above $100 per barrel after peace talks between the US and Iran failed over the weekend and the US navy moved to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump and his advisers are also considering resuming limited military strikes on Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. On Monday, the June futures contract of Brent Crude rose above the $100 per barrel mark on the Intercontinental Exchange for the first time in four sessions.

 

Trump Sunday said the US Navy will start blockading any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz. "The Blockade will begin shortly. Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade. Iran will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION," he said in a post on Truth Social. Meanwhile, the US Central Command said it will begin blocking all maritime traffic in and out of Iran's ports at 1930 IST Monday. The measure would be applied impartially to ships from all countries, while still permitting vessels travelling between non-Iranian ports to pass through the Strait, according to a statement by the Central Command on X.

 

Talks between the US and Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardising a fragile two-week ceasefire agreed between the two warring parties last week. US Vice President J.D. Vance blamed the collapse of peace talks on Tehran's refusal to abandon its nuclear weapons programme, while Iranian sources hit back at "excessive" demands from Washington. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US of "shifting goalposts" when the two sides were "inches away" from an agreement in the talks in Islamabad.

 

The April futures contract indicates a gap down open for the Nifty 50 index. At 0806 IST, the contract traded at 23752.50 points, a discount of around 300 points from Nifty 50's previous close. "On the level front, 23680-23650 zone will act as immediate support on the down side, a sustained trading below the same might drag it (Nifty 50 index) towards 23500 spot levels. On the higher side, 24100-24200 will act as an immediate intraday resistance," Vipin Kumaar, senior technical and derivatives analyst at Globe Capital Market, said. (Arya S. Biju)

---

Equity Alert: US futures dn 1% as Trump threatens to block Strait of Hormuz

 

MUMBAI--0749 IST--The Wall Street is likely to open significantly lower Monday after US President Donald Trump said the American military will start blockading ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. "Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said on a social media post on Truth Social after peace talks with Iran failed over the weekend. At 0725 IST, the E-Mini Dow futures fell around 1%. Brent crude oil June futures rose nearly 7% and hovered near $102 per barrel.  

 

"The new blockade statement is an overt signal to equity markets that the Iranian conflict remains uncertain," Jeff Kilburg, the chief executive officer of KKM Financial, was quoted as saying by CNBC. Trump also said that traders who paid a toll to Iran to pass through the waterway will be not be allowed to do so.

As of Friday, all major indices of the Wall Street posted their second consecutive week of gains amid hopes of some relief from the US-Iran conflict. But the weekend kicked in with more bad news. Negotiatiors from the US and Iran met in Islamabad for peace talks, but they failed to reach an agreement and that prompted Trump to announce the blockade of the Strait. The US wants Iran to give up plans of making a nuclear weapon but they failed to reach an agreement on that, US Vice-President J. D. Vance said on Sunday.

 

Friday, the blue-chip Dow Jones and the S&P 500 ended the week around 3% higher each, while the NASDAQ Composite outperformed and closed the week with over 4% gains. Trading in the futures contract suggests indices might lose some of these gains on Monday.

 

On the macroeconomic front, the US Consumer Price Index rose 0.9% on month in March and 3.3% on year. This was the highest monthly surge since January 2022, driven by a 10.9% year-on-year increase in energy prices as gasoline costs were up 21% on year in March. In February, headline inflation was up 0.3% on month and 2.4% on year.

 

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy items, was up 2.6% on year in March. Considering the core inflation data, the US Federal Reserve is unlikely to change its stance in the near term, Bank of America Research said in a report. 

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Friday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6816.89	(-)0.11
NASDAQ Composite	22902.894	0.35
Dow Jones Industrial Average	47916.57	(-)0.56

 

(Ruchira Kagita)

 

US$1 = INR 92.72

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

 

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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.