GIFT Nifty indicates red start for equities as brent crude hits $90/barrel mark

GIFT Nifty:

The GIFT Nifty July 2026 futures currently traded 92.00 points lower, suggesting a lower opening for the benchmark index today.

Institutional Flows:

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 376.41 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,017.89 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 July 2026, provisional data showed.

The FIIs have sold shares worth Rs 4,546.87 crore so far in July (till 17 July 2026). This follows their cash sales of Rs 49,028.63 crore in June, Rs 55,963.33 crore in May and Rs 70,135.46 crore in April.

Global Markets:

Asian share markets traded mixed on Monday as the escalating conflict in the Gulf lifted oil prices and ​fanned fears of inflation.

Brent crude ‌climbed above $90 a barrel for the first time in more than a month as the U.S. military started a ninth straight day of attacks against Iran, which in turn struck targets across the region. Just a handful of ships transited the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and one was reported to be on fire.

In the commodity market, the Brent duly added ⁠2.6% to $90.40 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 2.3% to $84.39.

The jump in fuel costs has revived worries about inflation even as U.S. consumer price data surprised on ​the downside last week, leading futures markets to reportedly price in 29 basis points of Federal Reserve rate hikes by year-end.

Futures imply a 60% chance of a rate rise as early as September, pushing yields on 30-year Treasuries back above the psychological 5.0% barrier. This is a level ​that tends to attract funds away from equities and toward fixed income, while lifting the valuation bar for future corporate earnings.

Last week, stocks fell again on Friday, with Wall Street posting a weekly decline, as traders weighed the latest moves in semiconductor names along with recent quarterly reports.

The broad market index lost 1.01% to end at 7,457.69, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4% to 25,520.24 as tech stocks came under scrutiny. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 406.55 points, or 0.77%, to close at 52,146.42.

Alongside chips, shares of Netflix were a major laggard Friday, falling more than 7% as the company?s forecast failed to ease investor concerns that growth is slowing.

Domestic Market:

Key equity benchmark indices surged on Friday despite weak global cues, with the Nifty 50 closing above the 24,300 mark and the Sensex rallying nearly 1,000 points.

The rally was led by strong buying in IT and banking stocks after upbeat quarterly earnings from Tech Mahindra and Jio Financial Services, while optimism ahead of Reliance Industries' June-quarter results further boosted heavyweight stocks.

Value buying in large-cap counters and a technical breakout above the 24,200 level added momentum to the upmove.

However, the broader market remained under pressure, with midcap and smallcap indices ending lower, indicating that gains were concentrated in large-cap stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex surged 964.58 points or 1.25% to 78,151.45. The Nifty 50 index rallied 261.55 points or 1.09% to 24,334.30.

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