Stocks fell in early trading on Wednesday as renewed US-Iran tensions pushed Brent crude up 2.55% to USD 76.05 a barrel. India’s Sensex and Nifty dropped sharply, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI also moved lower. The report cited moves in assets including 1OILBRENT, Nikkei and KR200, but did not provide a formal code for the BSE Sensex (often represented as “BE” in some YAML conventions).

Motilal Oswal estimates that 44 Indian listed companies may post a more than 10% year-on-year drop in Q1 net profit, spanning aviation, defence, cement, chemicals, banking, healthcare, oil and gas, real estate and telecom. The brokerage cites higher energy costs, softer demand in some pockets and geopolitical uncertainty as key drags. It also highlights the Iran-Israel/US conflict as a risk factor that could pressure crude prices, inflation, the rupee and corporate earnings, and says it has cut FY26 and FY27 earnings estimates.

US military strikes on Iran and reported Iranian retaliatory attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait escalated Middle East tensions. Brent crude rose 2.6% to $76.1 a barrel, pressuring energy-importing markets. India’s Sensex slid 591 points and the Nifty 50 fell 180 points to 24,218.70, with airlines, financials and autos among the weakest on higher import-cost concerns. The geopolitical shock weighed on expectations for energy supplies and risk appetite across emerging markets.

Fresh US military strikes on Iran lifted Brent crude 2.6% to $76.1 per barrel in a single session. The rise in oil prices weighed on risk appetite in India, the world’s third-largest crude oil importer. The Nifty 50 fell 0.57% to 24,259.55, with all 16 sectoral indices in the red, while BankNifty and the Nifty Midcap Select also met technical resistance.

Gold and silver extended losses for a third straight session as fresh U.S. strikes on Iran lifted oil prices and the dollar, reinforcing expectations that U.S. interest rates could stay higher for longer. Markets are pricing in a more than 67% chance of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike in September, up from about 57% on Tuesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool. On the MCX, August 2026 gold futures fell to Rs 1,45,170 per 10 grams and September 2026 silver futures slipped to Rs 2,30,015 per kg. Spot gold eased to $4,100.32 an ounce after earlier touching its lowest level since July 2.

The Indian government launched a post-listing offer for sale (OFS) in Cochin Shipyard on July 8, 2024, opening the deal to retail investors with an initial 2.52% stake sale and a greenshoe option that can take the total to 5.04%. The floor price has been set at ₹1,400 per share. The divestment involves the sale of existing government shares, so the company will not receive proceeds, and the aim is to raise public shareholding. Analysts are split, with some citing the OFS discount as an entry point and others pointing to a 13.3% year-on-year drop in FY26 net profit alongside mixed revenue trends.

Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindalco and Hindustan Zinc are set to report FY2025 first-quarter results. Brokerage Nuvama expects higher zinc, aluminium and copper prices to lift EBITDA, with Vedanta’s international zinc business seen surging 145% QoQ and Hindalco’s aluminium segment rising 16% QoQ. Some segments are likely to see weaker volumes, but price strength is expected to underpin earnings improvement.

South Korea’s Kospi fell for a third straight session, sliding another 4% and taking its three-day drop to 9%, its lowest level since late May. The decline was triggered after Samsung Electronics sank nearly 10% in the prior session despite forecasting a 19-fold jump in second-quarter operating profit, as investors questioned the durability of AI-led memory-chip demand. Foreign investors were net sellers of 471.7 billion won ($311.68 million) of Korean shares. Chip stocks also sold off globally, with Intel, Micron and others down more than 9%.