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Informist, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026

Adhithya Aji

MUMBAI – Indian equity indices are expected to be range-bound Tuesday amid uncertainty over the war in West Asia and high crude oil prices. The August futures of Brent crude oil rose to over $91 per barrel after the US-Iran ceasefire agreement expired Monday, with no indications of a new pact or an extension of the deal from either side. US President Donald Trump said he was not planning to extend the ceasefire pact with Iran.

Trump said talks are underway with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, but he "is not in a hurry" to strike a deal, CNBC reported. He has also threatened to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" of his administration's own talks with Iran, Fox News reported. At 0731 IST, the August futures of Brent crude oil traded 0.4% higher at $91.23 per barrel.

At 0732 IST, the August futures of GIFT Nifty traded at 24311.50 points, up 14 points or 0.1%, which is 23.85 points higher than the benchmark Nifty 50's close Monday, indicating a range-bound movement. "Technically, Nifty (50) index is hovering around the confluence zone of its 100-days and 200-days exponential moving averages," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. Kumar said a rise above 24450 spot levels would lead the index towards the 24600-24650 spot zone, and conversely, a fall below 24230 could drag it towards 24130-24050 spot levels.

Foreign investors sold over INR 25 billion worth of equities Monday and domestic participants bought shares worth over INR 51 billion, according to National Securities Depository Ltd. data. 

On the stock front, Nuvama Institutional Equities downgraded BSE's shares to 'hold' and cut the target price nearly 21% to INR 3,240. The newly introduced closing auction section in the equity market has reset the index option volumes to a new low, and the Reserve Bank of India's norm to limit bank guarantee are acting as the headwinds for the exchange. From Apr. 1, the RBI tightened the lending norms for banks for capital market intermediaries. Nuvama's action comes after global brokerage Jefferies downgraded BSE to "underperform" from "hold" and lowered the target price over 16% to INR 2,940 earlier.  End

US$1 = INR 95.60

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

Edited by Shubhayan Bhattacharya

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