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Informist, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – Benchmark equity indices are likely to open lower Tuesday, as suggested by movement in the August futures contract of GIFT Nifty, following a slight uptick in crude oil prices from Monday's levels. Indices are expected to pare their gains from the previous session, wherein they rose 1-2%, despite ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran. Market participants will shift their major focus Tuesday as to how the new closing auction mechanism functions in the equity cash segment.

US President Donald Trump claimed talks with Iran are ongoing, saying this is Tehran's "last chance to sign a good document," Al Jazeera reported. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said a new Strait of Hormuz shipping route is being discussed with Oman, and it will be one path with entry and exit lanes. Baghaei also said there are no plans to receive a delegation or send an Iranian one, in regard to the talks with the US, Al Jazeera reported.

According to a report by CBS News, US officials said there are no "new" or novel negotiations planned, despite Trump's continued comments on negotiations with Iran. Monday, Trump called Iran's leadership "unbelievably duplicitous" after Iran said hours earlier it had no plans to hold direct talks with Washington. Trump's Board of Peace said Hamas must completely disarm before Israel withdraws from Gaza after Israeli pushback. At 0738 IST, the October futures contract of Brent crude oil was nearly 1% higher at $84.53 a barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange. 

Stock exchanges Monday implemented the new closing auction mechanism for the equity cash segment, applicable to stocks in which futures and options trading is permitted. However, a divergence occurred between the closing levels of the Nifty 50 and the Sensex Monday after the prices were determined under the new closing auction mechanism. Monday, when the continuous trading ended, the 50-stock index had ended at 24573.35 points, up 0.8% from Friday. Post the closing auction session, the index ended at 24774.30 points, up 390.70 points or 1.6%.

Under the new rules, the continuous trading session ends at 1515 IST for these selected stocks, and the closing auction session runs between 1528 IST and 1530 IST. The price band during the closing auction session is capped at 3% above or below the stock's reference price.

According to a press release by the National Stock Exchange released Monday, on the first day of CAS implementation itself, 515 trading members participated, and they placed orders for 56773 unique Permanent Account Numbers. "It was more than today's pre-open call auction session where 403 trading members participated who placed orders for 42822 unique PANs," according to the release. The exchange said the participation levels were very good, given the first day, and it is expected to mature and increase with time.

The NSE also mentioned the index graph on the exchange during the CAS session needs to be properly interpreted, as there is no sudden change in the index at 1530 IST, but the order collection, cancellation, and matching follow a process. As there is no continuous order matching between 1515 IST and 1530 IST, the index value is constant as it is based on traded values. "However, the indicative values are displayed just beside the quotes on the Exchange website, based on the indicative values derived from the equilibrium prices calculated continuously during 1515 IST and 1530 IST," according to the release.

At 0734 IST, the August futures contract of GIFT Nifty was marginally higher from its previous close at 24656.50. This was over 110 points lower than the Nifty 50's previous close of 24774.30. "Gift Nifty is indicating towards a flat opening for the domestic markets," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. "Going ahead, sustenance above 24600 holds the key for a sustainable move to 24800 and higher levels in the near term. Conversely, a fall below 24400 spot will confirm further consolidation in the benchmark index."

From an earnings perspective, Bharti Airtel and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. will be tracked as the companies will detail their June quarter earnings later in the day. Bharti Airtel is expected to post consolidated net profit at INR 85.51 billion, up 44% on year. Its revenues are expected to grow nearly 16% on year to INR 572.89 billion.

All three major US indices settled higher Monday with significant gains. The NASDAQ Composite closed over 2% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed above 1% higher each. Asian equity indices were mixed in early trade, with the S&P/ ASX 200 Index up 1%.  End

US$1 = INR 95.3375

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

Edited by Himanshi Gupta

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