Indian shares set for muted start, sentiment subdued on US-Iran tensions

People talk inside the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Mumbai, India, August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas · Reuters

Reuters

Fri, 20 February 2026 at 11:22 am GMT+9 1 min read

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Feb 20 (Reuters) - India’s equity benchmarks are likely to open little changed on Friday, but sentiment is expected ‌to remain subdued amid a jump in oil prices ‌to a six-month high due to U.S.-Iran tensions.

The Gift Nifty futures were trading ​at 25,426.5 points as of 7:47 a.m. IST, indicating the benchmark Nifty 50 will open near Thursday’s close of 25,454.35.

The Nifty 50 and Sensex slid about 1.5% on Thursday, marking their biggest daily ‌drop in over two ⁠weeks amid simmering tensions in the Middle East. The benchmarks are down marginally for the week.

U.S. ⁠President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday that it must make a deal over its nuclear program or “really bad things” will happen, ​and set ​a deadline of 10 to ​15 days, drawing a ‌threat from Tehran to retaliate against U.S. bases in the region if attacked.

Brent crude oil prices rose to $71.87 per barrel on Friday, extending their three-day gains to 6.6% amid tensions in the key oil-producing region. [O/R]

Higher crude prices are a negative for India ‌as it is the world’s third-largest ​crude oil importer.

Both foreign and domestic institutional ​investors were net sellers ​of Indian equities on Thursday, offloading 8.8 billion ‌rupees and 5.96 billion rupees ​worth of shares, ​respectively.

STOCKS TO WATCH

** Electrification and automation company ABB India’s December quarter profit drops about 18%, while revenue rises

** Texmaco ​Rail & Engineering and ‌Rail Vikas Nigam enter a joint venture to focus on rolling ​stock, engineering, procurement, and construction projects

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar ​M; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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