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Informist, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – Domestic frontline indices are expected to open slightly lower Thursday, according to the GIFT Nifty movement, as market sentiment was hurt by the recent escalation in the war in West Asia and higher crude oil prices. Analysts expect the indices to move in a range on the expiry day of the Sensex's weekly derivatives contract. They see the 24400-point level as a crucial mark, a fall below which will lead to further drop in the market. Brent crude oil for October delivery fell slightly to $88 a barrel from the previous day's high of $90 a barrel. Shares of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Max Healthcare Institute will be in focus as they will announce their June quarter results later in the day.

US President Donald Trump again insisted that the US has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz, despite shipping traffic through the key waterway dropping to a one-week low amid the escalating war on Iran, Al Jazeera reported. Tehran will continue resisting the US and keep the strait closed until all its demands are met, the report said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is mediating between the US and Iran and was trying to bring both the countries to the negotiating table and prevent efforts to undermine the peace process, Al Jazeera reported, citing the country's foreign ministry. Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan's interior minister, visited Tehran for discussions with Iranian officials as part of mediation efforts to halt the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

At 0743 IST, the October futures contract of Brent crude oil was over 1% lower at $87.96 a barrel. It was almost 21% higher than the pre-war levels. Crude oil prices fell after gaining for the past six sessions. The October delivery of the commodity gained over 12% during this period.  

At 0806 IST, the August futures contract of GIFT Nifty was largely flat from Wednesday at 24424.50. This was down over 11 points than the Nifty 50's previous close of 24435.95, suggesting a lower opening. "The benchmark Nifty (50) index broke its seven-day congestion range of 24400–24730 on the lower side," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. "Despite a last-hour recovery that helped it regain some lost ground, it settled below 24400 spot levels in continuous trading that concludes at 3:15PM (1515 IST). Going forward, holding below 24400 spot levels could drag it towards 24130–24050 in the near term. Conversely, sustained trading above 24500 will strengthen the chances of further consolidation in the near term."

Shares of Tata group companies will continue to be under focus as Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said he will not seek reappointment at the company's annual general meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, because of the lack of consensus in the board on his continuation. Tata group companies were the major drags on the Nifty 50 index Wednesday, with Tata Consultancy Services shedding 4%.

Tata Motors PV is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 12.54 billion for the June quarter, down over 51% on year. Its revenues for the quarter are expected to be INR 925.70 billion, up 6% on year. Max Healthcare Institute is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 3.95 billion, up over 28% on year. The company's revenue from operations is seen up 34% on year at INR 27.2 billion.

Foreign institutional investors reversed their three straight sessions of buying Wednesday and net sold shares worth INR 10.01 billion. Domestic institutional investors continued buying for the second session Wednesday and net bought shares worth INR 58.42 million.

Barring the Dow Jones Industrial Average, other major US indices settled higher Wednesday. Asian equity indices were mixed in early trade with South Korea's KOSPI gaining over 4%.  End

US$1 = INR 95.33

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

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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