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Informist, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – Headline equity indices are expected to continue moving in a range Friday as suggested by the movement in the GIFT Nifty. However, analysts said the Nifty 50 index has the potential to edge up further in the near term as long as it stays above the 24600-point level. Crude oil prices resumed their climb to $83 a barrel despite US President Donald Trump's comment that the Iran war is likely to end "pretty soon". Investors have now shifted their prime focus to the new closing auction mechanism for the equity cash segment as the sharp divergence between the closing levels of the Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex continued.

Trump said that he believed the war with Iran will end soon, and insisted the US has "massive amounts of munitions" despite reports of shortages, Al Jazeera reported. Regarding the deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Iran said the deal with Oman was "on the verge of being finalised", after both the countries agreed on the coordinates of routes through the critical waterway, according to the report.

US and Israeli ships would be blocked from passage through the Strait of Hormuz under the terms of a draft plan on how to manage the economically vital waterway, CNBC reported, citing Iranian state news outlet Fars. "Any temporary routes will be without any impediments--meaning no approvals or permissions and no tolls or charges," CNBC reported, quoting a US official. "The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and no party controls the lanes or the ability to transit through them," the official said.

Meanwhile, Iran's Parliament Speaker and Chief Negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Trump of conducting "theatre diplomacy on loop" after the president's repeated claims that he was ordering attacks on Iran, and then calling them off, according to an Al Jazeera report. "‘Massive attack coming...wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.' That's theater diplomacy on loop," Ghalibaf posted on his X account Thursday.

At 0748 IST, the October futures contract of Brent crude oil was 1% higher at $83.35 a barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange. In a week, crude oil prices have shed over 5% and lost nearly 14% in the past seven sessions. From the pre-war levels, oil prices are now over 14% higher.

At the end of the continuous session at 1515 IST Thursday, the Nifty 50 was at 24627.95 points, slightly up from Wednesday, while the BSE Sensex was at 78785.62 points, up 0.3%. After the closing auction session, the Nifty 50 ended at 24636, up 11.35 points from Wednesday's close. This was over eight points higher than the 1515 IST level. The Sensex, on the expiry day of its weekly derivatives contract, ended at 78954.76, up 373.76 points or 0.5%. The August futures contract of the 30-stock index ended at a premium of 205 points at 1530 IST to the Sensex's close. Ruchit Jain, head of technical research at brokerage Motilal Oswal, said the sharp spike in the Nifty 50 post-closing auction session on Monday and Tuesday occurred as there were more buyers than sellers. 

At 0851 IST, the August futures contract of GIFT Nifty was largely flat from its previous close at 24651. This was 15 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close. "The Nifty (50) index traded in a narrow range of just 75 points throughout the session and settled at 24636 (spot), well within the resistance zone of 24600–24700," Vipin Kumar assistant vice president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. "Going forward, a decisive break above 24700 could push it towards 24850 and higher levels in the near term. Conversely, 24400 will continue to act as a strong support level, while a break below it could drag the index down to 24150–24050."

Titan Co. and Hindalco Industries will also be tracked as they will announce their June quarter results later in the day. Titan is expected to report a 25% on year rise in its net profit for the June quarter to nearly INR 13 billion, while its revenue is expected to rise nearly 38% to nearly INR 201 billion. Robust growth in domestic jewellery sales, along with healthy sales of watches, eyewear, and other products, is likely to help Titan's earnings growth. Hindalco's consolidated net profit for the quarter is seen at INR 58.17 billion, while its revenues are expected at INR 889.70 billion.

All three major US indices closed lower Thursday as investors weighed on a new set of earnings and the progress in the US and Iran peace deal. Asian indices were mixed, with the Nikkei 225 shedding the most, down almost 1%.  End

US$1 = INR 95.22

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

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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