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Informist, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – Domestic frontline indices are expected to move in a range Thursday as indicated in the movement of the GIFT Nifty. The finalisation of a deal between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz and crude oil prices hovering at $80 a barrel are expected to aid sentiment. Market participants will keep a tab on the new closing auction mechanism for the equity cash segment after another day of sharp divergence between the closing levels of the Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex. Shares of Trent will be in focus as the company will detail its June quarter results Thursday.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said a deal with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz is being finalised, and the two countries have agreed on coordinates for routes through the waterway, but that the US and Israel still pose a danger to ships, Al Jazeera reported. The talks between Iran and Oman "have nothing to do with the United States," Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting quoted an informed source, Al Jazeera report said.

There was no immediate US comment on the proposal, Reuters reported. While US President Donald Trump said a deal to reopen the strait is imminent, US officials have repeatedly insisted they would never agree to Iran controlling access to the world's most important trade route for energy supplies, as per the news report.

On hopes of the Strait of Hormuz reopening and a smooth oil supply through the route, oil prices remained steady at $80 a barrel early Thursday after falling to a low of $79 a barrel. At 0740 IST, the October futures contract of Brent crude oil was nearly 1% higher from its previous close at $80.03 a barrel. Oil prices are almost 10% higher than their pre-war levels.

At 0745 IST, the August futures contract of GIFT Nifty was marginally higher from its previous close at 24691. The futures contract was over 66 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close of 24624.65, indicating a rangebound movement for the index Thursday.

"...we continue to believe that a decisive daily close above the 24800–24850 band would provide conclusive evidence that the market has successfully shrugged off its three-month-long sideways trading range and resumed its primary uptrend," Hitesh Rathi, technical analyst at Angel One, said in a note. "Until such confirmation emerges, remaining on the sidelines, particularly with the index trading close to key resistance levels; appears to be the more prudent strategy."

The Nifty 50 settled at 24570.20 points after the continuous trading session Wednesday at 1515 IST, down 0.2% from Tuesday. The BSE Sensex ended at 78501.85 points, up 0.1%. After the closing auction, the Nifty 50 ended at 24624.65, up 9.75 points from Tuesday and over 54 points higher than the 1515 IST level. At 1535 IST, the August futures contract of the Nifty 50 was at a premium of 22 points to the index close. 

After the implementation of the new closing auction mechanism for the equity cash segment Monday, a sharp divergence between the closing levels of the Nifty 50 and the Sensex remained for the third straight session. "A clearer picture is likely to emerge once market participants become more familiar with the process and sufficient data points are available," Sundar Kewat, technical and derivatives analyst at Ashika Institutional Equity Research, said. "For now, investors should avoid drawing immediate conclusions and closely monitor how the CAS mechanism evolves over the coming sessions," he said.

Shares of Power Grid Corp. of India will also be in focus as the company released its June quarter results early Thursday. The company reported a nearly 7% on-year fall in its net profit at INR 34.11 billion. Its revenues for the quarter fell over 1% on year to INR 97.95 billion. Both the key metrics missed meeting analysts' expectations for the quarter.

After buying for six straight sessions, foreign institutional investors Wednesday net sold equity shares worth INR 9.43 billion. Domestic investors net bought shares worth INR 28.83 billion the previous day.

Barring the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the US indices settled lower Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite closed nearly 1% lower, while the S&P 500 settled marginally lower. Asian indices were mixed, with most of them being lower in early trade. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and Japan's Nikkei 225 ended almost 1% lower each.  End

US$1 = INR 95.1175

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

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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