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Informist, Friday, Jul. 24, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – A sharp rise in Brent crude oil prices to $101 a barrel, their highest level in nine weeks, is likely to pull down Indian equity indices for a fifth straight session as the conflict in West Asia escalates. Oil prices surged sharply after Yemen's Houthis targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and US President Donald Trump threatened more military attacks on Iran. Analysts expect this will lead to more disruptions in global oil supply.

Thursday, Trump said the country will hold Iran responsible for future Houthi attacks after they claimed to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. "Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly. Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night," Trump said in his post on Truth Social. The Houthis Thursday confirmed they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with drones and missiles for allegedly violating their maritime blockade, CNBC reported.

The September futures contract of Brent crude oil was $100.03 a barrel early Friday, over 37% higher than the pre-war levels. "Brent crude is trading on the verge of a breakout from its price resistance of ($)102 (per barrel)," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. "A decisive close above ($)102 could lead it up to the ($)110-($)112 zone in the near term."

The July contract of the GIFT Nifty suggested a lower opening for the market Friday. At 0738 IST, the GIFT Nifty was largely flat at 23674.50 from Thursday. This was down nearly 200 points from the Nifty 50's Thursday close. "Going ahead, a decisive breakdown below the 23800–23780 spot zone could trigger a further slide toward 23600–23500 levels," Kumar said. "Conversely, sustained trading above 24000 could push it back to 24260 spot levels."

In another development, the Office of the US Trade Representative imposed tariffs on 60 economies for failing to effectively prohibit the export of goods produced with forced labour. This follows investigations by the office, which included two rounds of public hearings in early July and an analysis of over 1,600 written comments on proposed responsive actions.

Index heavyweight HDFC Bank will be tracked Friday as the bank's American Depository Receipts fell 1.6% after US law firm Glancy Prongay & Rotter LLP launched an investigation into the bank to determine whether the lender violated US federal securities laws. The law firm is examining whether HDFC Bank made materially misleading disclosures to investors or otherwise breached US securities laws, the Mint newspaper reported. Shares of the bank ended down nearly 1% Thursday before news of the investigation broke. 

Shares of information technology giant Infosys will be in the spotlight Friday as the company announced its earnings for the June quarter Thursday post-market hours. The company missed meeting market expectations for its June quarter revenue in constant currency terms. The sequential decline of nearly 9% in its bottom line was the second-worst sequential performance in eight quarters. Infosys' American Depository Receipts fell around 6% after the company announced its results.

Infosys' consolidated net profit fell 8.6% sequentially to INR 77.69 billion in the June quarter, missing analysts' estimate of INR 78.67 billion. The company's consolidated revenue increased 3.9% on quarter to INR 482.11 billion, which was also slightly below the Street view of INR 484.45 billion.

InterGlobe Aviation posted a net loss for the second consecutive quarter at INR 3.82 billion as rising aviation turbine fuel prices, the sharp depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, and the war in West Asia weighed on its profitability in the June quarter. The Street estimated the company to report a net profit of INR 12.30 billion.

Tata Consumer Products, Shriram Finance, SBI Life Insurance, and NTPC will detail their June quarter results later in the day. Tata Consumer's

consolidated bottom line is expected to rise nearly 23% on year but decline 1.56% sequentially to INR 4.10 billion. A healthy volume growth across its domestic food portfolio and price-led growth overseas are likely to maintain the company's growth momentum in the reporting quarter.

Sustained loan growth, improving net interest margins, lower funding costs, and stable asset quality are expected to help Shriram Finance report a healthy set of numbers for the June quarter. The company is expected to post a net interest income of INR 72.42 billion in the June quarter, up 25% on year. Its net profit is estimated at INR 30.52 billion, up 42% from the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Analysts expect NTPC to report an on-year rise in both its bottom line and top line for the June quarter, led by high power demand due to delay in monsoon onset. The company is expected to report a net profit of over INR 51 billion for the quarter, up nearly 7% on year.

Market participants will closely watch foreign investment flows. Foreign institutional investors net sold shares worth INR 29.99 billion Thursday, while domestic investors turned buyers again and net bought shares worth INR 29.47 billion.

All Asian equity indices were lower in early trade, with South Korea's KOSPI, down over 4%, shedding the most. All three major US indices closed lower Thursday after earnings of major technology companies raised concerns about heavy spending on artificial intelligence.  End

US$1 = INR 96.5725

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

Edited by Himanshi Gupta

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