The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to remain under pressure on Wednesday, 19 August, as rising crude oil prices and a sharp overnight increase in global bond yields weigh on investor sentiment.

Asian markets traded lower on Wednesday, while US stock futures hovered near the flatline.

On Tuesday, the ongoing West Asia crisis and concerns over the impact of elevated crude oil prices on India’s macroeconomic outlook and corporate earnings continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Domestic Market Recap

On Tuesday, Indian indices ended in red:

• Sensex slumped by 493 points (0.63%) to close at 77,235.46.
• Nifty 50 moved down by 133 points (0.55%) to settle at 24,154.90.

Gift Nifty

Gift Nifty was trading near 24,187, around 42 points lower than the previous Nifty futures close, hinting at a negative start for Indian markets.

Overnight Wall Street Performance

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped by 116.38 points (0.22%) to close at 53,343.40.
• S&P 500 was down by 53.30 points (0.69%), ending at 7.691.76.
• The Nasdaq Composite was lower by 355.20 points (1.32%), finishing at 26,289.71.

Crude Oil Prices

• Brent crude gained by 0.29% to $91.28/barrel

Overnight Major Global Events Driving Sentiment

1. US-Iran War: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Washington was not holding negotiations with Iran and insisted that the Strait of Hormuz remained open, contradicting Tehran’s claim that the key shipping route was still closed. The temporary ceasefire between the two countries ended on Monday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran was preparing to adopt a “fully offensive” military posture as diplomatic efforts stalled. However, neither side reported any new attacks on Tuesday.

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