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Informist, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026

 

By Anshul Choudhary

 

MUMBAI – Benchmark indices are likely to move in a range this week until clarity emerges about any peace deal between the US and Iran, which is unlikely for now, according to analysts. Investors will focus on US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's press conference later in the day. Bessent is expected to announce details of the US economic sanctions against Iran.

 

Brent crude oil prices are still high with October futures at around $93 per barrel, still over 27% higher than the pre-war level. This has raised inflation risk for the future, leading to concern of the Reserve Bank of India increasing interest rates, which will hurt equities.

 

Amid these risks, some technical analysts expect the index to fall more to 24000 points while others expect the index to remain largely in range between 24100 and 24300 points. Strong inflows from domestic investors are likely to limit any downside in the market, analysts said. Monday, the Nifty 50 ended at 24219.05 points, down 0.1% from Friday.

 

"...The recent signs of bearish exhaustion have raised hopes of a potential reversal, although the momentum remains subdued," Osho Krishan, chief manager of technical and derivative research at Angel One, said in a note. "For now, a cautious approach remains prudent, with participants advised to refrain from taking aggressive positions until greater clarity emerges in the broader trend."

 

The higher-than-expected earnings growth during the June quarter has given more confidence to analysts about growth in the coming quarters but sustained high prices of crude oil could affect growth in the coming quarters, leading to some risk-off sentiment in the market, analysts said.

 

"Companies have done really well despite the war thanks of price hikes taken across sectors," Dharmesh Kant, head of equity research at Cholamandalam Securities, said. "Probability of strong returns is high if US-Iran tensions ease... it is a 'buy-on-dips' market right now." 

 

Having said that, the benchmark indices will continue to face selling pressure because of weak sentiment around information technology stocks. Analysts largely agreed IT companies will face a hit to revenues as they will have to pass on productivity gain benefits due to artificial intelligence to clients. While an impact on revenues is expected due to AI, the extent of the hit is debatable, analysts said. Monday, IT companies saw profit-taking ooking at higher levels with the Nifty IT index ending 0.2% higher as compared to a rise of over 1% in the morning.

 

"With AI-led deflation compounded by geo-political impact, we expect muted revenue growth in FY27 (for mid-cap IT companies), as scaled execution focused midcap IT plays to benefit, amid increasing vendor consolidation & cost take-out deals," Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers said in a report Monday. "In addition, tech focused midcap IT plays may come under pressure as hyperscalers focus on cost savings amid humungous AI/Datacenter related capex."

 

Investors also await the earnings of Nvidia, due Wednesday. Further, the annual gathering of US Federal Reserve officials and bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, between Thursday and Sunday will offer cues around interest rates.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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