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Informist, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026

By Adhithya Aji

MUMBAI – Benchmark indices are expected to open flat amid rising crude oil prices. Asian markets opened lower Wednesday, while Wall Street indices closed down Tuesday. Global cues are likely to weigh on investor sentiment. The GIFT Nifty trend points to range-bound movement in the Nifty 50. The lack of any indication of a resolution to the US-Iran war is keeping crude oil prices elevated. August Brent crude oil futures were at nearly $92 per barrel, up 0.9%. 

At 0738 IST, the August contract of GIFT Nifty was at 24212 points, up 57.1 points from Tuesday's close of 24154.90. "Overall, the near-term bias is likely to remain cautious as long as the index trades below the immediate resistance zone," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. Kumar expects resistance for the index at 24400–24450, while immediate support is at 24040. "Going ahead, we expect the index to take a halt around this support zone," he added.

"Corporate earnings momentum remains resilient, supported by strong cyclical tailwinds from tax cuts and monetary easing," Nomura said in a report. The brokerage said this is adequately reflected in current consensus expectations. "The Indian equity market has underperformed global peers," the brokerage said. The Nifty 50 is currently trading at 18.1 times one-year forward earnings, which is close to the 18-22 times valuation range that has prevailed over the past four years, Nomura said. "Our March 2027 Nifty 50 target of 25,900 is based on 18.5x (time) one-year forward earnings," the brokerage said. 

Tuesday, foreign institutional investors were net buyers, buying equity worth INR 16.51 billion, while domestic institutional investors bought shares for INR 25.79 billion. On Monday, foreign participants were net sellers of Indian equity. Most Asian markets opened lower Wednesday, with South Korea's Kospi being the major laggard in the region. The tech-heavy index fell more than 5%. US indices ended lower Tuesday, weighed down by the sharp rise in 10-year US Treasury yield. On Tuesday, the 10-year US Treasury yield hit 4.748%, the highest level since 2007, CNBC reported. 

The rise in the 10-year US yield also weighed on Indian information technology shares over the past two days. Shares of IT majors Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, and Tata Consultancy Services will be in focus Wednesday.  End

US$1 = INR 95.68

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

Edited by Saji George Titus

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