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Informist, Monday, May 18, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: May open down on Trump's new threat to Iran, higher oil prices

 

MUMBAI--0835 IST--Headline stock indices may open lower Monday after crude oil prices resumed their climb above the $110 a barrel. This came after US President Donald Trump's new warning to Iran that the "clock is ticking" for a peace deal to be reached with Washington. The indices are likely to track a fall in most Asian markets in early trade. At 0833 IST, the Brent crude oil July futures contract was almost 2% higher at $111.27 per barrel. Foreign investment flows and the rupee's levels are also expected to continue to provide market direction ahead.

 

Trump on Sunday warned Iran there won't be anything left of the country unless it agrees to a deal. "For Iran, the Clock is ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won't be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE," NDTV reported, quoting Trump in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. Trump's threat came after he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

 

At 0834 IST, the Gift Nifty was almost 1% lower at 23554.50, which was short of 89 points from the Nifty 50's previous close of 23643.50. "On Friday, the benchmark Nifty index opened with an upside gap and briefly breached the resistance level of 23,800 (spot) during day trade," Vipin Kumar, technical and derivatives analyst at Globe Capital Market, said. "However, it failed to hold above that level and settled slightly lower at 23660 (spot). An unstable geopolitical situation in the Middle East, elevated crude oil prices, continuous FII outflows, and a depreciating Indian Rupee remain key concerns," he said. "A sustained trading below 23580 could drag it toward the 23200–23150 zone. Conversely, a decisive breach above 23800 could lead the index toward 24000–24150 in the near term."

 

The government cut the windfall gains tax on the export of diesel and aviation turbine fuel for the fortnight, which started from Saturday. The special additional excise duty, or windfall gains tax, on the export of diesel was reduced by INR 6.50 to INR 16.50 per litre, according to a notification issued by the finance ministry Friday. The tax on aviation turbine fuel was cut by INR 17 to INR 16 per litre. The government also introduced windfall gains tax of INR 3 per litre on the export of petrol.

 

The government has imposed restrictions on silver imports to cut down on demand for precious metals to ease the pressure on the rupee and foreign exchange reserves. The curbs were imposed after silver imports jumped 157% on-year in April to $411 million.

 

Shares of Power Grid Corp. will be in focus as the company announced its March quarter results Friday post market hours. Its bottom line for the quarter was slightly above the Street's view, with the top line falling on year and way short of the Street's estimate. The company posted a net profit of INR 45.53 billion for Jan-Mar, which is an on-year rise of 5%, compared to a 2% on-year rise estimated by the Street at INR 44.36 billion. Power Grid's revenue for the quarter fell over 9% on year to INR 99.71 billion. Analysts had expected the top line to rise to INR 128 billion. Friday, shares of Power Grid Corp. ended over 1% higher at INR 305.85 on the National Stock Exchange.

 

American Depositary Receipts of Infosys and Wipro rose over 3% and over 2%, respectively. Meanwhile, those of Sify Technologies and HDFC Bank fell over 4% and over 1%, respectively.

 

Barring the Kospi and SSE Composite Index, all Asian equity indices declined in early trade. All major US indices settled over 1% lower Friday.  (Arundathi A R)

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Equity Alert: Most Asian indices fall, West Asia tensions, crude prices weigh

 

MUMBAI--0822 IST--Stock indices in Asia begin the week on a weak note after US President Donald Trump issued a fresh threat to Iran, warning the West Asian nation "to get moving." The meeting between Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping failed to provide clarity on how and when the war in West Asia would cease. Brent crude oil futures surged above $110 per barrel again.

 

"For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won't be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!," US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 

 

To shield itself from the impact of the war in West Asia, Japan's government will likely issue fresh debt, Reuters reported. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is planning on setting up a supplementary budget, but the size of it is yet to be decided, the media agency said. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond to 2.8%, its highest level since October 1996.

 

China's industrial production output grew 4.1% on year in April. This is significantly lower than Reuters' expectations of a 5.9% increase. The country's retail sales rose just 0.2% in April, sharply down from a 1.7% rise in March. Reuters had expected retail sales to grow 2% in April.

 

The following were the levels of major Asian indices at 0819 IST:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
CSI 300 Index	4858.5879	(-)0.02
Hang Seng Index	25632.37	(-)1.27
Nikkei 225 Day	60846.54	(-)0.92
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3834.10	(-)0.77
KOSPI	7618.91	1.68
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8523.40	(-)1.24

 

(Ruchira Kagita)

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Equity Alert: US Indices end lower Fri; inflation concerns weigh 

 

MUMBAI--0746 IST--Wall Street indices ended lower on Friday. Elevated crude oil prices near $110 per barrel and a hotter-than-expected inflation print, which dented hopes of a near-term interest rate cut, dampened market sentiment. Further, treasury yields rose sharply, with the benchmark US 10-year yield up over 4.5%

 

A crucial meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing ended on a good note but provided no significant headway into ending the war in West Asia and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had said that Xi agreed on the need to open up the strait, according to a Reuters report, but China did not issue any formal statement on this.

 

In the week gone by, the S&P 500 gained for the seventh consecutive week, but the NASDAQ snapped its six-week gaining streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, posted weekly losses after seeing gains for the two prior weeks.

 

"There's a realisation that the market had gotten way ahead of itself," Kenny Polcari, chief market strategist at Slatestone Wealth in Jupiter, told Reuters. "It wasn't paying enough attention to what the bond market and economic data is telling it. It was caught up in this momentum AI trade," Polcari said. 

 

Investors will keep an eye out for Nvidia's earnings on Wednesday. Retail majors Target and Walmart will also post their earnings this week.

 

Jerome Powell's eight-year term as the chair of the Federal Reserve ended Friday. He was, however, nominated to be the chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new chair. 

 

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

 

US Indices	Levels	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49526.17	(-)1.07
NASDAQ Composite	26225.145	(-)1.54
S&P 500	7408.50	(-)1.24

 

(Ruchira Kagita)

 

US$1 = INR 95.97

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

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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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