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Informist, Thursday, May 7, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Mkts open higher on US-Iran deal hope, fall in crude prices

 

MUMBAI--1000 IST--Benchmark indices opened higher Thursday as crude oil prices eased after US President Donald Trump said it was very possible that Washington would make a deal with Iran. At 0936 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24371.15 points, up 40.20 points or 0.2%, and the BSE Sensex was at 78044.95, up 86.43 points or 0.1%.

 

The Brent Crude Oil prices were over $102 per barrel, marginally higher from the previous close. On Wednesday, Brent crude prices hit a two-week low, falling over 11% to around $96.75 a barrel at one point before rising back above the $100 mark. 

 

Automobile majors--Bajaj Auto and Mahindra & Mahindra--were the top gainers among the Nifty 50 constituents, up 3% and over 2%, respectively. Bajaj Auto's net profit for Jan-Mar rose 34% on year to INR 27.46 billion. This was the highest growth in the bottom line in eight quarters. The revenue of the company was at INR 160.06 billion, up 34% on year. Eicher Motors, Grasim Industries, HDFC Life Insurance Co., SBI Life Insurance Co., Tata Steel, and Eternal were up 1-2%. 

 

On the other hand, Tata Consumer Products, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, and Power Grid Corp. of India were the worst performers in the 50-stock index. They were down around 1?ch. Hindustan Unilever, Bharat Electronics, Titan Co., and the heavyweight HDFC Bank were down 0.3-0.6%. 

 

Among the Nifty 200 constituents, Polycab India rose nearly 5% to be the top gainer. The company's March quarter net profit and revenue surpassed analysts' view. One 97 Communications gained over 3%. The Paytm operator posted a net profit for the reporting quarter against a net loss in the previous one.

 

Meanwhile, Godrej Consumer Products and KPIT Technologies were the worst hit stocks in both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices. They were down over 4?ch. Godrej Consumer Products failed to meet the Street's view on its consolidated net profit for the March quarter. KPIT Technologies missed the analysts' estimate for its Jan-Mar net profit as well. 

 

In the Nifty 500, Aptus Value Housing Finance India was the best performer and was up over 9%. The company's consolidated net profit for the reporting quarter rose 26% on year to INR 2.61 billion.  (Adhithya Aji)

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Equity Alert: Seen opening higher on US-Iran deal hope, falling oil prices

 

MUMBAI--0825 IST--The headline indices may open higher Thursday amid positive developments on the global front. Crude oil prices are also expected to support the equity market, as they are currently around $100 a barrel. US President Donald Trump said he had "very good talks" with Iran, and added, "it's very possible we'll make a deal." The early gains in its Asian peers are also likely to provide support. At 0833 IST, Brent crude July futures were 0.5% higher at $101.85 per barrel.

 

Operation Epic Fury "will be at an end" if Iran "agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption," Trump posted on his Truth Social account Wednesday. However, he also said, Iran will be bombed "at a much higher level" if it doesn't agree to a peace deal.

 

"The White House believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations," US news website Axios reported Wednesday, quoting US officials. Washington expects Iran to respond on several key points in the next 48 hours, the report said. If formalised, the MoU would declare an end to the US-Iran war and start 30 days of negotiations for a detailed deal between the warring countries.

 

The Gift Nifty May futures also suggested a higher opening for the Nifty 50 index Thursday. At 0834 IST, the Gift Nifty was 0.5% down at 24429.50, down 0.5% from its previous close, but over 98 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close of 24330.95.

 

 

Wednesday, the Nifty 50 settled at 24330.95, up over 290 points or 1.2% higher. "The Nifty 50 is expected to face resistance at 24500–24550 points and find support at 24300 levels," Sundar Kewat, technical and derivatives analyst at Ashika Group, said. He expects the index to see profit booking at this resistance level.

 

On the earnings front, Nifty 50 stock Bajaj Auto will be in the spotlight, as the company detailed its March quarter earnings Wednesday post market hours. Its net profit for the March quarter was INR 27.46 billion, up 34% on year and revenue was INR 160.06 billion, up nearly 32% on year. Both the metrics beat the analysts' expectations for the reporting quarter.

 

Brokerage Nuvama Institutional Equities upgraded Bajaj Auto's target price by 8.4% to INR 11,600 and retained its 'buy' recommendation on the stock. The brokerage raised its 2026–27 (Apr-Mar) and FY28 earnings-per-share estimates by 7–9%. Nuvama also sees the company's volumes to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10% over FY26 to FY28. Shares of Bajaj Auto ended nearly 3% higher Wednesday at INR 10,319 on the National Stock Exchange.

 

In the global equity market, all US indices closed the previous session higher. Barring the CSI 300 index, all Asian equity indices traded higher. The CSI 300 index was down with a mere fall of 0.1%.  (Arundathi A R)

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Equity Alert: Markets in Asia gain despite renewed West Asia concerns

 

MUMBAI--0830 IST--Equity indices in Asia gained Thursday, even as fresh concerns about the fragile peace deal resurfaced after US President Trump said Iran will be bombed "at a much higher level" if it doesn't agree to a peace deal. Brent Crude oil futures topped the $100 per barrel level again.

 

Equity markets in Japan reopened on a strong note after being closed for three public holidays. The benchmark Nikkei 225 touched an all-time-high, supported by gains in electronics and technology stocks. Shares of heavyweight Softbank Group Corp. surged as much as 15% intraday. Shares of Mitsui Kinzoku, Renesas Electronics, and Daikin Industries rose 8-15%.

 

 

On the macroeconomic front, the Bank of Japan, in the minutes of its recent monetary policy meeting, highlighted that the impact of the war in West Asia on Japan's economy would depend on how long the war continues and in what form it takes. The members pointed out that more information was needed for the central bank to revise the baseline scenario of its outlook. As for prices, the committee members expect inflationary pressure to persist due to high crude oil prices.

 

Meanwhile, the South Korean benchmark index KOSPI was up marginally after touching a fresh high Wednesday. The FTSE Singapore Strait Times and the S&P ASX 200 indices maintained gains from the previous trading session.

 

The following were the levels of major Asian indices at 0825 IST:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
CSI 300 Index	4876.1219	(-)0.02
Hang Seng Index	26580.81	1.40
Nikkei 225 Day	62915.87	5.72
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3853.64	3.35
KOSPI	7414.09	0.40
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	4938.26	0.22
S&P/ASX 200 INDEX	8868.70	0.85

 

(Ruchira Kagita)

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Equity Alert: S&P 500, NSDAQ notch fresh highs; tech stocks top gainers

 

MUMBAI--0745 IST--The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite touched new highs for the second consecutive session, driven by technology stocks and positive sentiment from reports that said the US is close to reaching an understanding with Iran to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.

 

On the stock front, Advanced Micro Devices closed sharply higher. The stock closed nearly 19% higher after the management revised its guidance. The company sees the market for central processing units growing over 35% per year. The market is expected to cross $120 billion by the end of the decade. "Agents are really driving tremendous demand in the overall AI adoption cycle, and we're very excited to be in the middle of it," Lisa Su, chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices, told CNBC. Among technology stocks, other key buzzers were Micron Technology, Intel Corp., and Nvidia Corp.

 

Among stocks in focus on the back of earnings was Walt Disney Co. Shares of the entertainment giant gained over 7?ter its March quarter results beat estimates. New CEO Josh D'Amaro guided the company's earnings per share to grow 12% in 2026.

 

What could be a spoilsport for markets Thursday was US President Donald Trump's statement threatening intensified attacks on Iran if Tehran does not agree to the contours of the peace deal. Crude oil prices had slipped sharply Wednesday but have risen again after Trump's threats against Iran. Brent Crude oil futures were up over 5% from Wednesday's lows at nearly $101 per barrel. US futures, however, have shown a slight positive bias.

 

The following were the closing levels of major US indices on Wednesday:

 

US Indices	Levels	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49910.59	1.24
NASDAQ Composite	25838.943	2.02
S&P 500	7365.12	1.46

 

(Ruchira Kagita)

 

US$1 = INR 94.85

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

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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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