More Stories

Informist, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026

 

By Arundathi A R

 

MUMBAI – With diplomatic talks between the US and Iran at an impasse and the memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries to end the war expiring Monday, market sentiment is likely to remain weak in the coming days. Analysts expect the headline indices to move in a range Tuesday. With the June-quarter season wrapped up, analysts will largely track geopolitical developments and crude oil price movements. Brent crude prices near $90 a barrel are also adding more to investor nervousness.

 

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a trickle over the weekend ahead of the expiry of the 60-day ceasefire between the US and Iran on Monday, with no official negotiations or deal in sight, according to a CNBC report. Only five cargo ships passed through the critical shipping route on Saturday, CNBC reported, quoting Reuters. At 1614 IST, October Brent crude futures were up 0.5% to $88.95 a barrel. October Brent crude futures gained nearly 7% over the past seven days. Brent prices are 22% higher than pre-war levels.

 

Meanwhile, Motilal Oswal raised the earnings per share estimates for Nifty 50 companies for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) by 0.6% to INR 1,232, largely owing to Reliance Industries, Hindalco Industries, Oil and Natural Gas Corp., ICICI Bank, and State Bank of India. Motilal raised its FY28 earnings per share estimate by 0.3% to INR 1,425, citing upgrades in State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Hindalco Industries, Bajaj Finserv, and Bajaj Auto.

 

Foreign investors net bought equity shares worth INR 5.08 billion on Friday, while domestic investors invested INR 3.56 billion, according to data from National Securities Depository Ltd. Foreign investors turned net buyers after selling for the previous two sessions, while domestic investors net bought equity shares for the fourth straight session.

 

The rupee traded weak, declining to a two-week low against the dollar to 95.60. "The rupee remains sensitive to crude and dollar movements, while market participants will now focus on the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting minutes for further cues on the US interest-rate outlook and dollar direction. The rupee is expected to trade in the 95.25–95.85 range in the near term," Jateen Trivedi, commodity and currency research analyst at LKP Securities, said in a note.

 

At the end of the continuous trading session at 1515 IST Monday, the Nifty 50 was at 24339.80 points, down 0.1% from Friday. The BSE Sensex was at 77844.43 points, down 0.2%. After the closing auction session, the Nifty 50 ended at 24287.65, down 78.35 points or 0.3% from Friday's close. This was more than 52 points below the 1515 IST level. The Sensex ended at 77728.16, down 281.09 points or 0.4%. "In the coming days, the trend is likely to remain weak as long as the index stays below 24400," Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said in a note. "On the lower end, support is placed at 24225, below which the correction could extend towards 24190-24050. Overall, the bias is likely to remain volatile."

 

Monday, information technology stocks were the major laggards, with HCL Technologies shedding nearly 3%. "Geopolitical concerns are very high, like crude (oil) prices are inching up, and US (Treasury) yields are remaining high, which is causing pressure on IT stocks," said Sumit Pokharna, vice-president of research at Kotak Securities.

 

"This is technical profit-taking or decline following a sharp up move (in Nifty IT index) from 25700 to 32000," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. "Nifty IT index is consolidating around the price resistance of 32000 levels for the past two weeks. A sustained trading below 30900 spot could drag it towards 30000-29500 levels in the near term. Conversely, a decisive close above 32000 could take it up to 33500-33800 spot levels," he said.  End

 

US$1 = INR 95.6025

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

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.