Indian Shares Set For Positive Start After Losses Amid Oil Price Worries

Indian shares are set to open higher on Friday to break a three-session losing streak, though rising oil prices may limit gains.

Market Status

GIFT Nifty futures stood at 22,830.50 during early morning trade, pointing to a positive start for the Nifty 50 after it closed at 22,687.65 on Thursday. Both the Nifty and Sensex have fallen about 2% this week. Market sentiment remains cautious due to Brent crude oil futures climbing to $113.5 a barrel. This oil price spike stems from worries about energy supply disruptions following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, a top oil exporter. Hitesh Tailor, technical research analyst at Choice Broking, noted that buyers are trying to defend lower levels while sellers appear on rebounds.

Global And Investor Activity

Asian markets opened lower after Wall Street fell overnight. The Nasdaq dropped over 2% as Meta shares fell nearly 8% because the Facebook parent posted its first cash outflow in over a decade due to AI spending. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors were net buyers of Indian stocks on Thursday with 10.22 billion rupees ($107.79 million) in inflows. Domestic institutional investors also bought a net 16.14 billion rupees worth of stocks according to NSE provisional data. Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, stated that domestic market direction will depend on quarterly earnings and management comments on future demand.

Corporate Updates

Several company results and plans are drawing attention. Colgate-Palmolive India will be in focus after posting higher quarterly profit driven by toothpaste demand. Swiggy plans to expand its quick-commerce business, Instamart, after reporting a bigger-than-expected loss in the September quarter. eMudhra exited its website security business after flaws caused global concern, sending its shares down 36% in two sessions. Hatsun Agro reported a 5.5% year-on-year rise in second-quarter profit to 1.16 billion rupees alongside a roughly 20% revenue increase. HPCL saw a 9% drop in September quarter profit due to higher tax expenses and surging oil prices that squeezed fuel retail margins.

Context

Global crude oil prices heavily influence India's domestic markets because the country imports a large share of its energy needs. Higher oil costs directly pressure company profit margins and can cause broader stock market declines. Tracking both foreign and domestic institutional fund flows helps analysts understand day-to-day market momentum.