Indian markets and investors will closely track developments in West Asia and crude oil prices after oil crossed the $100 per barrel mark amid escalat…
1/8US Markets | US equities fell on Thursday, as oil prices surged amid escalating conflict in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 538 points, or 1%. The S&P 500 dropped 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2%.
2/8US-Iran war | American airstrikes continued as diplomatic efforts showed little public progress, with officials on both sides maintaining their positions over the Strait of Hormuz dispute. Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly passed a resolution seeking to halt US military action in Iran, marking the second such warning to President Donald Trump as the conflict deepens and its trajectory remains uncertain.
3/8Crude oil | Oil prices are leaping further Thursday as increased fighting in the Middle East threatens to slow the global flow of crude. Oil topped $100 a barrel for the first time in two months after Iran-backed Houthi militants said they attacked two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea.
4/8US Tariff Deadline | President Donald Trump’s temporary 10% global tariff, imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act, is scheduled to expire on Friday after reaching its 150-day statutory limit. Markets will be watching whether the Trump administration allows the measure to lapse or introduces a replacement framework, as U.S. trade officials have indicated further tariff actions are under consideration.
5/8US jobless Data | US applications for jobless benefits tumbled to the lowest level in more than five decades last week as layoffs remain historically low despite global economic uncertainty. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 18 declined by 22,000 to 187,000, the Labour Department reported Thursday. That’s the fewest number of weekly applications since the week ending Sept. 6, 1969, according to Labour Department data. It’s also well below the 215,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.
6/8US Economic Data | The United States is scheduled to release key economic data on Friday, including the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), and New Home Sales figures.
7/8Q1 Earnings | Several companies are scheduled to announce their first-quarter FY27 earnings on Friday, including SBI Cards, ACC, CG Power, Laurus Labs, Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL), Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), and Sterlite Technologies.
8/8Global Earnings to Watch | Several global companies are scheduled to announce their earnings on Friday. These include Volkswagen at 10:30 AM IST, followed by American Express, Verizon, and SLB at 4:30 PM IST. Neste and SGS are also slated to report their quarterly results later in the day.
