Indian equities drift as Brent holds near USD89 on Gulf tensions

KUALA LUMPUR, 21 JULY 2026 —

The Nifty and Sensex opened little changed on Monday as Brent crude hovered near USD89 a barrel amid fresh US-Iran hostilities and Red Sea blockade risks.

Both gauges began flat after Monday’s 0.6% drop in the Nifty to 24,216.05 and a 0.6% fall in the Sensex to 77,649.63. The Indian rupee was also steady at 96.41 per dollar, little changed from Friday’s 96.45 close. Brent crude futures traded near USD89, after touching USD90 earlier in the session.

“Benchmark indices could swing within a ±0.5% band this week,” said G. Chokkalingam, head of research at Equinomics Research. He cited improved kharif sowing—down to a 6% acreage deficit from 21% two weeks ago—despite 65% of sub-divisions facing deficient rainfall. New retail investor inflows of 7 lakh per week should also curb major declines, he added, with small and mid-caps likely to outperform large caps.

VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, warned that a sustained Brent spike above USD90 would reignite India’s energy vulnerability, pressuring the rupee and foreign portfolio flows. “Near-term headwinds include geopolitical risks and domestic disruptions,” he said. “If crude stays elevated, the market’s downside risk rises materially.”

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