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Indian equity markets are likely to make a flat-to-negative start on Monday amid mixed cues from global markets. Sentiment may remain downbeat amid lingering uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran peace talks, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and volatility in crude oil prices. However, some support may come from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who turned buyers with net equity purchases of Rs 508.12 crore on August 14, 2026.

Some of the key factors to be watched:

India’s current account deficit widens to $6.2 billionin June: Preliminary data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed that India's current account deficit widened to $6.2 billion in June from a surplus of $1.2 billion in the year-ago month. 

Australian regional leader to visit India; trade, investment ties in focus: The report said that Australian regional leader Chris Minns will lead an official delegation to India later this month seeking to strengthen his state's economic, education and cultural ties with one of its key international partners.

Govt cuts windfall gains tax on petrol, diesel, ATF exports: The government has cut windfall gains tax on exports of petrol, diesel and ATF for the fortnight beginning August 15. The rate of special additional excise duty (SAED) on the export of diesel is now Rs 24 per litre, down from Rs 25.5 a litre. SAED on exports of ATF is set at Rs 19.5 per litre, as against Rs 22 per litre earlier.

Forex kitty jumps $14.14 billion to $707 billion: The Reserve Bank said that India's forex reserves jumped $14.136 billion to $707.00 billion during the week ended August 7. 

Europe emerges top destination for India's electric car shipments in Q1: The commerce ministry data stated that Europe emerged as the top destination for Indian electric motor car shipments in the first quarter of 2026-27, with the United Kingdom ranking as the second-largest market and recording imports worth $78.7 million, compared with negligible shipments in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Global front: The US markets ended in red on Friday, amid geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East and lingering concerns surrounding the artificial intelligence trade. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Monday despite the negative cues from Wall Street on Friday.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks pared most of their initial losses but ended marginally lower on Friday, as investors remained cautious amid developments in the Middle East and their potential implications for global energy markets. However, better-than-expected corporate earnings and supportive global cues helped limit the downside. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 70.71 points or 0.09% to 78,009.25 and the CNX Nifty was down by 29.85 points or 0.12% to 24,366.00. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India’s wholesale inflation shows mild cooling at 9.78% in July: India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation showed a mild cooling in July 2026, with inflation easing to 9.78 per cent from 9.87 per cent in June 2026. The index for All Commodities also declined slightly to 110.0 in July 2026 from 110.2 in June 2026.

India's merchandise exports jump 19.6% in July driven by petroleum products: The commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India’s merchandise exports rose by 19.63 per cent to $44.24 billion in July 2026 as compared to $36.98 billion in July 2025, driven by a jump in shipments of petroleum products. 

India in regular contact with US on proposed bilateral trade agreement: Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal has said that India is in ‘regular contact’ with the United States (US) regarding negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA). According to him, both countries are committed to the framework deal that was agreed upon in February, 2026.

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