Nifty & Sensex Likely to Open on a Weak Note; Reliance & HDFC Bank Q3FY26 Results Out!

Pre-Market Update at 7:57 AM: The Indian stock market is set for a weak opening on Monday, as global sentiment remains cautious. Gift Nifty traded around 25,592, at a discount of nearly 160 points versus the previous close of Nifty futures, signaling a gap-down start for domestic benchmarks.

On Friday, the Sensex gained 187.64 points (0.23 per cent) to close at 83,570.35, while the Nifty 50 ended 28.75 points (0.11 per cent) higher at 25,694.35, snapping a two-day losing streak led by IT heavyweights. This week, investor focus will be on Q3 earnings, US-Iran tensions, US-Europe tariff developments, India-US trade talks, movements in crude, gold and silver, FPI flows and key macroeconomic data. 

Asian markets traded mostly lower on Monday ahead of key Chinese data, with MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan down 0.1 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.85 per cent and the Topix fell 0.46 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.18 per cent, while Kosdaq slipped 0.15 per cent. Hong Kong Hang Seng futures pointed to a weaker open.

Gift Nifty hovered around 25,592, nearly 160 points below Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a soft start for domestic indices.

On Wall Street, US equities ended Friday’s session nearly flat but closed the week lower. The Dow Jones fell 83.11 points (0.17 per cent) to 49,359.33, the S&P 500 lost 4.46 points (0.06 per cent) to 6,940.01 and the Nasdaq declined 14.63 points (0.06 per cent) to 23,515.39. For the week, the S&P 500 slipped 0.38 per cent, the Nasdaq dropped 0.66 per cent and the Dow fell 0.29 per cent. 

Global sentiment weakened after US President Donald Trump threatened a fresh wave of tariffs on European Union members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, along with Britain and Norway, until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.

Bond markets in Japan moved sharply, with benchmark JGB yields rising to a near 27-year high. The 10-year JGB yield climbed 3.5 bps to 2.215 per cent, the highest since February 1999, while the two-year yield increased 0.5 bps to 1.2 per cent.

On the earnings front, Reliance Industries reported consolidated net profit of Rs 22,290 crore in Q3FY26, up 1.6 per cent year-on-year. Revenue rose 10.5 per cent YoY to Rs 2,69,496 crore. EBITDA increased 6.1 per cent YoY to Rs 50,932 crore, though margins contracted 70 bps to 17.3 per cent from 18 per cent YoY.

HDFC Bank posted net profit of Rs 18,653.75 crore for Q3FY26, up 11.4 per cent YoY, with Net Interest Income growing 6.4 per cent YoY to Rs 32,615 crore. Asset quality weakened sequentially, while total deposits rose 11.6 per cent and gross advances grew 11.9 per cent YoY.

Gold and silver prices surged to record highs on fears of a damaging US-Europe trade war. Spot gold jumped 1.6 per cent to USD 4,668.76 an ounce after touching USD 4,690.59, while silver climbed 3.2 per cent to USD 93.0211 and hit a peak of USD 94.1213 earlier.

The US dollar weakened as investors moved into safe-haven currencies like the yen and Swiss franc following Trump’s tariff remarks. The dollar index fell 0.19 per cent to 99.18. The greenback slid 0.45 per cent against the Swiss franc to 0.7983 and dropped 0.33 per cent to 157.59 yen. The euro rose 0.19 per cent to USD 1.1619 and the British pound gained 0.17 per cent to USD 1.3398.

Crude oil prices eased as tensions with Iran cooled. Brent crude slipped 0.41 per cent to USD 63.87 per barrel, while WTI fell 0.40 per cent to USD 59.20 per barrel.

For today, Sammaan Capital will remain on the F&O ban list.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.