Indian shares are set for a weaker start on Monday amid growing concerns over Middle East conflicts and mixed international market cues, prompting cautious investor sentiment ahead of a potentially range-bound week.
Indian shares are set for a weaker opening on Monday, with global risk appetite under pressure as tensions in the Middle East continue to overshadow sentiment. Trends in GIFT Nifty pointed to a soft start for the Sensex and Nifty 50, as investors also digested a mixed picture from overseas markets and the latest batch of economic data.
On Friday, domestic benchmarks ended slightly lower after a choppy session, breaking a two-week run of gains. The Sensex slipped 70.71 points, or 0.09%, to 78,009.25, while the Nifty 50 fell 29.85 points, or 0.12%, to 24,366.00. Market participants are now looking for direction from overseas cues, crude oil moves and developments in West Asia, which analysts say are likely to dominate trading in the near term.
Siddhartha Khemka, head of research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, told NDTV Profit that Indian equities are likely to stay range-bound this week as global signals and macroeconomic developments take centre stage after the Q1FY27 earnings season. He said investors are likely to become more selective as they judge whether the earnings recovery can be sustained and whether domestic fundamentals remain supportive.
Across Asia, trading was mixed on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix were lower, while futures pointed to a firmer open in Hong Kong. South Korean markets were shut for a holiday. In the US, Wall Street finished lower on Friday after weaker-than-expected retail sales data unsettled investors, even though major indices still posted modest gains for the week.
Geopolitics remained a major concern after US-Iran peace talks stalled and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend following attacks on tankers. Japan’s economy also expanded more slowly than expected in the April-June quarter, with GDP rising at an annualised 1.1%, below a Reuters poll forecast of 2.0%. At home, the Reserve Bank of India is set to close its swap facility for foreign currency non-resident bank deposits by August 31, after receiving $52.3 billion through FCNR deposits by August 13, a sign of strong inflows even as broader market sentiment turns cautious.
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