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Benchmarks likely to make cautious start amid geopolitical uncertainty
Aug-19-2026

Indian equity markets are likely to make a cautious start on Wednesday amid weak global cues, as concerns grow over surging oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty. However, some support may come from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who turned net buyers on August 18, 2026, purchasing equities worth Rs 1,651.53 crore.

Some of the key factors to be watched:

Goyal to visit Japan to discuss trade, investments: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that he will undertake a four-day visit to Japan from August 24, 2026 to hold discussions on strengthening trade and investment ties between the two countries.

Banks need to address emerging gaps in priority sector lending: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked public sector banks to address the gaps in Priority Sector Lending (PSL) and work towards improving the quality of such lending, as they play a very important role in the country's development.

India's tanker exports surge over six-fold to $1.36 billion in Q1FY27: Commerce ministry data showed that India's tanker exports surged more than six-fold to $1.36 billion in the June quarter from $221.1 million a year earlier, signalling the country's growing shipbuilding and maritime engineering capabilities, with the UAE emerging as the largest destination during the period

Jaishankar, Sitharaman, Goyal to travel to Singapore for crucial talks: Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada will travel to Singapore for the fourth India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR).

India imposes minimum import price on clear float glass to curb cheaper imports: The report said that India has imposed a minimum import price of Rs 34,000 per metric tonne on clear float glass for one year, a move that could benefit domestic producers, including Saint-Gobain and Asahi India, by curbing lower-priced imports.

Global front: The US markets ended lower on Tuesday weighed down by heavy selling in semiconductor and other technology stocks. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on Wednesday tracking negative cues from Wall Street amid elevated global bond yields and rising oil prices.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Tuesday, extending their losing streak, as elevated crude oil prices and fading hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment. Brent crude climbed above $90 a barrel, while rising US Treasury yields added to concerns over global inflation and foreign fund flows. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 492.70 points or 0.63% to 77,235.46 and the CNX Nifty was down by 132.75 points or 0.55% to 24,154.90.  

Some of the important factors in trade: 

Ind-Ra projects India's GDP growth to slow down to 6.8% in FY27: Citing risks from fuel and food inflation stemming from West Asia conflict's uncertainty, weak currency, and the likely impact of El Nino on agriculture, India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) has projected India's GDP growth to slow down to 6.8 per cent in FY27, as against 7.6 per cent in the previous year.

India’s unemployment rate falls to four-month low of 5.1% in July: Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has showed that India's unemployment rate (UR) for persons aged 15 years and above fell to a four-month low of 5.1 per cent in July 2026, from 5.5 per cent in June 2026. 

Government approves 31 new ECMS projects: The government of India has approved 31 new proposals under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), involving investments worth Rs 7,877 crore. With these approvals, the total number of projects cleared across five tranches has reached 106, with cumulative investments exceeding Rs 69,000 crore. 
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