Indian equities may open lower on Monday as renewed Strait of Hormuz tensions raise concerns over oil prices, global risk sentiment, and the outlook for geopolitical stability

stock markets, trading

Business Standard

Aakash Shah of Choice Broking recommends Acutaas, Prudent & Steelcast. Check buy levels, stop losses, share price targets and technical outlook.

Stocks to buy today

Oil prices rose in early trading Sunday as a standoff between Iran and the US prevented tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway that is crucial to global energy supplies.
The price of US crude oil increased 6.4 per cent to USD 87.88 per barrel after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 6.5 per cent to USD 96.25 per barrel.
The market reaction followed more than two days of growing hopes and dashed expectations involving the strait. Iran, which effectively controls the passage, said Friday that it would fully reopen the passage off its coast to commercial traffic. Crude prices plunged more than 9 per cent on the news.
Tehran reversed its decision on Saturday, after President Donald Trump said a US Navy blockade of Iranian ports would remain in effect. Over the weekend, Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on several vessels. Trump reported the forcible seizure of an Iranian-flagged car

Strait of Hormuz, crude oil (Photo: PTI)

Reuters

According to the report, the number of investors participating in the cash segment declined to 35.8 million in FY26 from 37.7 million in FY25

Retail investors, NSE, stock market trading

Harish Krishnan notes early signs of an earnings upcycle, with improving sales and operating trends across companies

Harish Krishnan, chief investment officer–equity at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC

Over the last year, investors, particularly in the United States, had sought out cheaper markets abroad where returns were juiced up by a weaker dollar

stock market, us stocks, junk market

Festive sentiment lifts gold and jewellery demand this Akshaya Tritiya, but high prices keep budgets tight, pushing buyers toward lower grammage and investment-led purchases

In the runup to Akshaya Tritiya, gold bullion demand has been up by 20%

Nifty rebounds after six-week slide as oil cools and FPIs return; Sebi tightens broker norms and rolls out reforms for AIFs, REITs and InvITs

street sign

Investors have also been snatching up junk bonds, although with a preference for the higher-rated end of the spectrum, implying that money managers still see risk ahead

global markets, investors

Bloomberg

The attacker siphoned about 116,500 rsETH - a token issued by Kelp DAO that represents "restaked" Ether - by targeting a bridge built using LayerZero

cryptocurrency, crypto, cyber crime

HDFC Bank plans to sustain FY26 credit growth momentum but avoids FY27 guidance, citing geopolitical risks, while focusing on stable funding metrics and balanced growth

A HDFC Bank Ltd. bank branch in Mumbai

Shriram Finance has cut fixed deposit rates across multiple tenures, with revised rates effective May 6, impacting returns for retail investors and fixed investment plans

Shriram Finance

The Indian beer industry is facing a "major trouble"  amid rising input costs triggered by the war, supply shortages, and restrictions on pricing imposed by state governments, said United Breweries Ltd (UBL) Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Vivek Gupta.
Urging for government intervention, he said the lack of regulatory support could stall growth and innovation in the sector and make it difficult to meet the promises.
"I think the beer industry is in major trouble right now because of the war and the financial impact it has on input costs and the inability to take pricing without government approval," Gupta told PTI.
The government has to come forward and support the domestic beer industry, otherwise it will stall innovation. The impact on beer is disproportionately higher than any other industry, he said.
"There is a significantly bigger impact of war on our industry because of cost increase on bottles, raw materials, (Indian rupee against) dollar not being great, expo

United Breweries, UBBL, Beer market

Urging for government intervention, he said the lack of regulatory support could stall growth and innovation in the sector and make it difficult to meet the promises

Press Trust of India

Company releases guidelines outlining inclusion of faith symbols following employee allegations and social media posts

Lenskart

Small and midcap indices rebound sharply to pre-war levels, outperforming benchmarks on attractive valuations and stronger recovery from earlier selloff

Smallcap, midcap

Equity ETFs and index funds attract record Rs 30,235 crore inflows in March, driven by dip buying and year-end institutional allocations amid market volatility

equity mutual fund

India is no longer the closed, simple economy of the 1970s. When the RBI attempts to fix the price of the rupee, it must contend with the incentives of millions of rational actors

Illustration: Binay Sinha

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Goods shipments in March at 1-year high, imports dip

Trade, ports, export

The company cut dividend payout and increases retained earnings as it seeks to make new investments in AI space and data centres

The ongoing blockage of the Strait of Hormuz is causing global freight, fuel, and insurance costs to soar, dampening market sentiment and hampering trade with West Asian customers.

Paul Bartholomew, associate-director, Ferrous Metals Research, S&P Global Energy

Paul Bartholomew

Weak spots in governance, asset quality, and risk discipline stall approvals

Listed small finance banks (SFBs) posted a decline in net profit by 0.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,300 crore during the first quarter of FY25 as provisions and contingencies more than doubled Y-o-Y to Rs 1,277 crore. Sequentially, the decl

China has overtaken the US to emerge as India's largest trading partner in 2025-26, with bilateral trade reaching USD 151.1 billion, while the country's trade deficit with Beijing widened to USD 112.16 billion during the period, government data showed.
The US was India's largest trading partner for four consecutive years till 2024-25.
India's exports to China rose 36.66 per cent to USD 19.47 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 16 per cent to USD 131.63 billion. The trade deficit swelled to an all-time high of USD 112.6 billion in 2025-26 as against USD 99.2 billion in 2024-25.
On the other hand, the country's outbound shipments to the US grew marginally 0.92 per cent to USD 87.3 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 15.95 per cent to USD 52.9 billion. The trade surplus declined to USD 34.4 billion in 2025-26 from USD 40.89 billion in 2024-25.
According to commerce ministry data, China was India's top trading partner from 2013-14 till

India China Trade

India's exports to China rose 36.66 per cent to $19.47 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 16 per cent to $131.63 billion

Stay updated with the latest stock market news and live updates. Get real-time insights on Sensex Today, Nifty Live, stock market today, IPO news and more on Business Standard.

Share Market Today | Latest Stock Market News, Sensex Today and Nifty Live Updates

Stay updated with the latest stock market news and live updates. Get real-time insights on Sensex, Nifty, stock market today, IPO news, mutual funds, and more on Business Standard.

Share Market Today

Market News

Spotlight

More on Markets