Indian equity markets are likely to make a gap-down opening on Thursday tracking weak global cues amid the latest escalation in the U.S.-Iran war and rising crude oil prices, which have intensified concerns over inflation. Additionally, some cautiousness may come from foreign institutional investors, who were net sellers of shares worth Rs 2,124.98 crore on Wednesday.
Some of the key factors to be watched:
India's outward FDI commitments fall 49% to $4.49 billion in May: The RBI data has showed that India's total outward foreign direct investment commitments declined 49.02 per cent month-on-month to $4.49 billion in May 2026 from $8.84 billion, mainly due to lower equity investments, loans, and guarantees issued by Indian companies.
India, Bulgaria discuss expanding ties in trade, defence, semiconductors, AI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Bulgaria's top leadership and discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, defence, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence.
RBI finalizes norms for bank lending to REITs, InvITs: The Reserve Bank issued final amendment directions permitting commercial banks to lend to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and InvITs, while retaining key prudential safeguards on exposure limits, asset quality, and repayment structures.
India attracted $843 billion in FDI between 2014-15 and 2025-26: Sumeet Jarangal, joint secretary in the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has said that India attracted cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows of $843 billion between 2014-15 and 2025-26, registering a 169 per cent increase over the preceding 12-year period.
Over 1 lakh guarantees totalling Rs 48,484 crore issued under ECLG scheme since May 5: The finance ministry said the number of guarantees issued under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0 has crossed 1 lakh, with the total amount reaching Rs 48,484 crore in a month.
Global front: The US markets ended in red on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump signaled that negotiations with Iran were taking too long and threatened more action. Asian markets are trading lower on Thursday following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight.
Back home, Indian equity benchmarks retreated from their day's high and ended flat on Wednesday as renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran unsettled investor sentiment. Weak trends in global markets and relentless foreign fund outflows also made investors cautious. According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,566.03 crore on Tuesday. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 64.42 points or 0.09% to 73,983.18 and the CNX Nifty was down by 27.15 points or 0.12% to 23,214.95.
Some of the important factors in trade:
India well placed to serve global healthcare needs: Highlighting the pharmaceutical sector’s growing global influence, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has said that India is well positioned to serve the world as an innovator, manufacturer, reliable supplier of affordable medicines, partner in advanced healthcare technologies and destination for contract manufacturing.
India's total exports reach to all-time high of $863 billion in FY26: Nitin Kumar Yadav, Additional Secretary at the Union Ministry of Commerce, has said that India’s total exports reached an all-time high of $863 billion in FY 2025-26, up from $468 billion in FY 2014-15, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7 per cent.
RBI’s recent measures likely to bring in $55-65 billion of inflows in FY27: SBI research in its latest Ecowrap report has said that the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) recent measures to attract foreign capital are expected to bring in $55-65 billion of inflows in FY27, helping stabilise the rupee and turning the country's balance of payments (BoP) into a surplus.
