Indian Shares Slide to Six‑Month Low as Oil Prices Surge on US‑Iran Stalemate

Indian equities opened the session on a cautious note as investors weighed a prolonged downturn in the market and the latest flare‑up in Middle East tensions. The benchmark Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex have fallen for a seventh straight session, erasing almost 6 % of their value in a run that marks one of the longest weekly losing streaks on record since 2020.

Oil prices climbed after the United States and Iran failed to reach a deal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump declined an Iranian proposal to lift the blockade, while Tehran reiterated that diplomatic solutions are the only way forward. Brent crude futures rose 1.5 % to roughly $106 a barrel, and Asian markets dipped 0.2 %.

The Nifty 50 futures traded at 23,111 points at 7:41 a.m. IST, signalling a muted start to the day. The index had closed at 23,140.5 the previous Friday. India, the world’s third‑largest crude importer, remains sensitive to higher oil costs, which can feed inflation, raise import bills and squeeze corporate margins.

Foreign investors sold a net 36.94 billion rupees ($385.54 million) of Indian shares on Friday, according to provisional data. They have sold $1.8 billion of stock in September alone, bringing their year‑to‑date outflows to $25.86 billion.

In corporate news, precision‑engineering firm Aequs has approved preferential warrants worth up to 6.5 billion rupees, including allocations to its promoter group, as it explores opportunities in aerospace and consumer markets. Meanwhile, Augment India Holdings is set to offload a 7.25 % stake in Clean Max Enviro through a block deal at a 10 % discount to the current market price.