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Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – Analysts see a higher opening for the headline stock indices Wednesday after a largely flat ending in the previous session. However, they see indices moving in a range for the day. The GIFT Nifty's futures contract movement also suggested a higher opening for the market despite fresh escalation in West Asia. After a lull in strikes between the US and Iran for the past few days, Iran launched surprise attacks on American forces in West Asia. Crude oil prices, however, stayed at their lower levels of $86 a barrel. Adani group companies such as Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Enterprises, Eicher Motors, and Asian Paints will be in focus as they will declare their June quarter results later in the day.

Iran has launched "multiple" ballistic missiles in an "attempted surprise attack" on American forces in the Middle East, the BBC reported, citing the US military. The US Central Command said all missiles were "successfully intercepted." The US military and Saudi Arabian forces struck "Iran-aligned terrorists" in Iraq as retaliation for Iran's drone attacks, according to the report, citing Centcom.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held "positive and productive" talks Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported. Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the US cannot pick and choose when to engage in conflict or diplomacy, ANI reported. Iran will take "any action" to retain control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Tehran has no plans to negotiate with Washington, Al Jazeera reported, quoting Gharibabadi.

At 0734 IST, the August futures contract of the GIFT Nifty was at 24213.50, down 87.50 points or 0.4% from its previous close. This signalled a higher opening for the market Wednesday as the August contract was nearly 230 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close of 23985.35. "The overall chart structure remains sideways, with immediate support around the 23880 spot level and resistance around the 24100 spot level," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president at Globe Capital Market, said. "Sustained trading below 23880 could drag it toward 23800, followed by 23600; conversely, a break above 24100 could lead it toward 24260–24300 in the near term."

Rupak De of LKP Securities expects a decisive move above 24050 in the near term to provide strength for the Nifty 50 index to move towards 24500 in the short term. "On the lower end, support is placed at 23800," De said.

"The strong 1QFY27 (Apr-Jun) results and better-than-expected results in several sectors should provide greater comfort to the market's earnings outlook," broking firm Kotak Institutional Equities said in a strategy report. Kotak expects fairly robust growth in net profits of the Nifty 50 index companies. Low base in certain sectors, continued strong activity in others, and higher year-on-year commodity prices are expected to give robust net profit growth for the companies under Kotak's coverage.

"We do not find much value in most parts of the market, despite overall market valuations looking quite reasonable," Kotak said. Aggregate market valuations are pulled down by the sharp de-rating in the multiples of banks and IT services, it said. 

On the earnings front, Adani Ports is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 33.75 billion in the June quarter, up 1.8% on year. Its consolidated revenues for the reporting quarter are seen at INR 105.61 billion, up 16%. Automobile major Eicher Motors is likely to report a consolidated net profit of INR 13.80 billion, up 15% on year. Asian Paints is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 12.63 billion for the quarter, up nearly 15% from the corresponding quarter a year ago. Its revenue is expected to be INR 101.80 billion, up nearly 14% on year.

Shares of Larsen & Toubro will also be in focus as the company detailed its June quarter earnings Tuesday post-market hours. The company reported strong on-year growth in its consolidated net profit for the quarter on a moderate rise in revenues. Its consolidated net profit for the June quarter rose 14% on year to INR 41.23 billion, while revenues rose about 7% on year to INR 679.42 billion.

Tuesday, foreign investors turned net buyers after four successive sessions of selling. They net bought shares worth INR 7.56 billion. Meanwhile, domestic investors net bought shares worth INR 16.64 billion.

Barring the Nasdaq Composite, all other US indices settled higher Tuesday. Asian equity indices were also mixed in early trade Wednesday, with South Korea's KOSPI shedding nearly 5% and the Hang Seng index gaining over 1%.  End

US$1 = INR 95.8525

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

Edited by Himanshi Gupta

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