Indian shares may open a tad lower on Mideast concerns; earnings in focus

Indian shares are expected to open slightly lower on Monday as rising oil prices, driven by escalating conflict in the ​Middle East, offset better-than-expected earnings from heavyweights Reliance Industries and ‌ICICI Bank.

GIFT Nifty futures GIFc1 were trading at 24,297.5 as of 7:59 a.m. IST, indicating the Nifty 50 could open slightly below Friday’s close of ​24,334.3.

US forces struck Iran for a ninth consecutive day ​as the number of confirmed American military deaths in the renewed ⁠fighting rose to three and concerns grew over shipping through ​the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures jumped 2.5% to top $90 per ​barrel for the first time in over a month, adding to concerns for import-dependent economies such as India.

At home, the focus will be on earnings after ​India’s top four private banks and oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries reported ​their quarterly results after market hours on Friday and over the weekend.

Billionaire Mukesh ‌Ambani’s Reliance ⁠Industries beat market expectations for first-quarter net profit, driven by strong performances across its oil-to-chemicals, retail and telecom businesses.

India’s second-largest private lender, ICICI Bank, reported higher-than-expected earnings for the June quarter, driven by stronger ​loan demand and ​lower provisions for ⁠bad loans.

Kotak Mahindra Bank  and Axis Bank  also reported better-than-expected results, while India’s largest private lender HDFC ​Bank’s earnings met analysts’ expectations.

Jefferies said ICICI Bank surprised ​positively, ⁠followed by Kotak Bank and Axis Bank, while HDFC Bank’s earnings were relatively weaker.

India’s benchmark Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex rose 0.5% and ⁠0.8%, respectively, ​last week, led by IT stocks ​on better-than-expected earnings, while heavyweights HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries rose 1.4% ​to 2.4% on Friday.