More Stories

Informist, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026

 

By Arundathi A R

 

MUMBAI – Crude oil price movements and other global developments are expected to dictate the direction of the domestic equity market in the coming days. While some analysts see the indices remaining in a range, others expect crude oil prices to decide the direction. Market participants will also watch out for updates on the war between the US and Iran, as any breakthrough could alter market sentiment. Shares of Tata group companies will be monitored amid the continuing boardroom tussle at holding company Tata Sons.

 

"A prolonged oil shock could weigh materially on India's macroeconomic indicators," Manoranjan Sharma, chief economist at Infomerics Ratings, said. "The market is consequently more likely to remain range-bound, with sharp sectoral rotation, than embark on a sustained one-way rise."

 

Several large-cap stocks in the banking, telecommunications, energy, and defensive counters appear more reasonably valued after recent price and time corrections, according to Sharma. However, he said valuation comfort alone may not generate near-term returns. "Over a three- to five-year horizon, companies with strong earnings visibility, clean balance sheets, and pricing power should offer greater potential for compounding."

 

At the end of the continuous trading session at 1515 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23341.85 points, up 0.3% from Thursday. The BSE Sensex was at 74559.97 points, also up 0.3%. After the closing auction session, the Nifty 50 ended at 23346.40, up 75.80 points or 0.3%. The Sensex ended at 74294.96, down 19.63 points.

 

"In the coming days, if Brent crude remains below $96, we might see a sustained uptrend in the Indian market in the short term," Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said in a note. "For Nifty, support is placed at 23000–23100 on the lower end, while on the higher end, the current recovery might take the index towards 23550."

 

Brent crude oil futures for November delivery fell as much as 2% to around $102 a barrel. Multinational bank JPMorgan said it no longer has a baseline view on oil. It said, "We simply don't know how to model the endgame" because the assumption that the West Asia disruptions are temporary is "becoming increasingly difficult to sustain".

 

Tata group companies were the major drags on the indices Friday. Shares of TCS and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles fell 3–4%. Thursday, the board of Tata Sons reappointed N. Chandrasekaran as executive chairman for a third consecutive five-year term and also approved listing the company. However, Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata came out in public against the listing, and the Tata Trusts said Chandrasekaran's reappointment was "illegal".

 

"At 0.4%, the direct cost is INR 4 per INR 1,000, but cumulative costs matter for thin-margin businesses," Sharma of Infomerics Ratings said about the merchant discount rate in a note. Merchant payments through the Unified Payments Interface above INR 2,000 will attract a merchant discount rate of 0.4% from Oct. 15, while person-to-person transactions will remain free, the government said Tuesday. "Impact would be greater where UPI transactions are large and frequent -- retail chains, jewellery, automobiles, travel and other higher-ticket merchants -- while small merchants remain protected by exemptions."

 

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Indian equities for the seventh straight session Friday, offloading shares worth INR 32.09 billion. Domestic investors, however, continued buying and acquired INR 36.18 billion of shares.  End

 

US$1 = INR 95.8725

 

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

 

Edited by Himanshi Gupta

 

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.