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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Indices seen rangebound; crude prices, US-Iran talks to weigh

MUMBAI--0850 IST--Headline indices are likely to move in a range Wednesday amid uncertainty over global developments. Crude oil prices staying above $110 a barrel, delay in US-Iran peace talks, and closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to weigh on market sentiment. Corporate earnings for the March quarter could lead to stock-specific action. At 0821 IST, the June futures contract of Brent crude was trading 0.5% lower at $110.74 per barrel.

 

The US is still engaging with Iran in negotiations and will "not be rushed into making a bad deal," Al Jazeera reported quoting Anna Kelly, White House spokeswoman. In another development, the United ‌Arab Emirates announced its decision to leave Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and OPEC+ to focus on "national interests", dealing a heavy blow to the oil-exporting groups.

 

At 0850 IST, the May contract of Gift Nifty was 0.1% higher at 24111, which is over 110 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close of 23995.70.

 

The March quarter results of Bajaj Finance are scheduled to be announced later in the day. The company's net interest income for Jan-Mar is estimated at INR 122.80 billion, up 25% on year. Its net profit is estimated at INR 54.40 billion, up over 21%, supported by robust growth in interest income and assets under management and signs of moderation in credit costs.

 

In the global equity market, Asian indices showed a mixed performance with most of them in the red. Singapore's FTSE Singapore Strait Times and Taiwan's Taiex were the worst performers, losing 0.5?ch. All the US indices settled lower Tuesday, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing lower after two sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower for the fourth session in a row.  (Arundathi A R)

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Equity Alert: Asian markets jittery; UAE move to leave OPEC raises concerns

 

MUMBAI--0820 IST--Asian indices were muted Wednesday as market participants were jittery after the United Arab Emirates said it will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries after 60 years of participation from May 1. Brent crude oil futures hovered above $110 per barrel, and concerns about the war in West Asia prolonging capped gains in equities.

 

"With the UAE leaving, Opec loses about 15% of its capacity and one of its most compliant members," Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Financial, told BBC.

 

Meanwhile, the Hang Seng index defied the broader market sentiment to be up over 1%. South Korea's benchmark KOSPI was marginally lower as heavyweights Samsung Electronics Co., SK Hynix, LG Energy Solution, and Hyundai Motor Co. fell almost 1?ch.

 

On the macroeconomic front, Australia's inflation jumped to 4.6% in the year to March, from 3.7% in February. This is the steepest rise in the country's inflation in two years and it was driven higher by high energy prices. The case for the Reserve Bank of Australia hiking its interest rates next week has strengthened after this higher-than-expected inflation print. Australia's benchmark S&P ASX 200 was down 0.2%.

 

Following were the levels of major Asian indices at 0818 IST:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
CSI 300 Index	4764.5995	0.13
Hang Seng Index	25939.08	1.01
Nikkei 225 Day	59917.46	(-)1.02
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3772.19	0.99
KOSPI	6637.15	(-)0.06
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	4859.46	(-)0.58
S&P/ASX 200 INDEX	8703.70	(-)0.08

 

(Ruchira Kagita)

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Equity Alert: US indices end lower Tue on renewed concerns over tech stocks

 

MUMBAI--0805 IST--US indices ended lower Tuesday after touching record highs the previous session as renewed concerns of an artificial intelligence boom triggered a sell-off in shares of major chip-makers and companies in allied businesses. The fall comes ahead of the quarterly earnings announcement by five of the US technology sector's "Magnificent Seven" companies this week.

 

On Monday, a report by The Wall Street Journal said that OpenAI recently missed its targets for revenue and new user growth. The report claimed that OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told other company leaders that the AI developer might not be able to finance future computing contracts if the top line growth does not pick up fast enough.

 

Following the report, stocks of major chipmakers tumbled, with VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), Broadcom, and 

Advanced Micro Devices sliding 3–4%, while industry leader Nvidia shed 2%. Shares of Oracle, which engages closely with OpenAI, fell 4%.

 

Investors will keep an eye out for the earnings of Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft, which are slated to come out Wednesday, while those of Apple are due Thursday.

 

As negotiations between the US and Tehran have seemingly reached a standstill, Brent crude oil prices remained over $111 per barrel, further weighing on investor sentiment. On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that US President Donald Trump and his national security team have discussed Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifts its blockade.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices on Tuesday:

 

US Indices	Levels	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49141.93	(-)0.05
NASDAQ Composite	24663.80	(-)0.9
S&P 500	7138.80	(-)0.49

 

(Shruti Nair)

 

US$1 = INR 94.54

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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