Thursday, 22 October 2026. GIFT Nifty was 22,650 at 8:05 AM IST, 78 points (0.34%) below where it stood at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, after a drone attack on Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oil field. Brent is back up at $110.50 a barrel, a rise Trading Economics linked to the attack. The fall came early this morning: GIFT Nifty ended the night session at 22,782.5, above its 3:30 PM level, and was at 22,665 fifteen minutes after trading resumed. Wednesday's session, in which the Nifty gave up an early gain and closed 0.34% lower, is in the post-market report for 21 October.
Brent up 1.55% after a drone attack on a Saudi oilfield
Brent was $110.50 a barrel this morning, up $1.68 (1.55%), and WTI $98.37, up $1.22 (1.26%), Trading Economics reported. It linked the rise to a drone attack on Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oil field that it said killed two people, a day after reports of ships being hit near the Strait of Hormuz had already taken Brent toward $111.
Supply is pulling the other way. Crude shipments from the Middle East are close to their pre-war levels, Trading Economics noted, and Saudi Arabia's exports rose 7.9% in August.
GIFT Nifty's 22,650 is 161.35 points below the Nifty's Wednesday close of 22,811.35. Its morning low so far was 22,626 (how much weight GIFT Nifty can carry).
Wall Street: Nasdaq up 1.1% after SpaceX's results
US stocks rose on Wednesday after profit reports from SpaceX, Capital One Financial and other large companies, the Associated Press reported. SpaceX did much better than analysts expected, which lifted other AI-related shares and Tesla. Netflix fell, along with other stocks hit by worries about future growth.
| US index | Wednesday close | Wednesday | Week so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 52,856.09 | +360.21 (+0.7%) | +853.68 (+1.6%) |
| S&P 500 | 7,757.17 | +44.60 (+0.6%) | +97.73 (+1.3%) |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,702.86 | +278.04 (+1.1%) | +562.82 (+2.2%) |
| Russell 2000 | 2,781.02 | +7.60 (+0.3%) | +59.65 (+2.2%) |
The US 10-year Treasury yield was 5.10% this morning, little changed. Trading Economics said markets put an 85% chance on the Federal Reserve leaving rates unchanged at its 27–28 October meeting.
Tokyo did not follow Wall Street. Chip-related shares fell this morning, Tokyo Electron by 3.7%, Fujikura by 2.8% and Ibiden by 2.6%, according to Trading Economics. Its index table and its written summary gave different figures for the Nikkei 225, so I have left the index level out.
Rupee up 53 paise to a six-week high; foreign funds buy
The rupee closed at 94.38 to the dollar on Wednesday, up 53 paise and at a six-week high, PTI reported. It put the gain down to foreign currency arriving for the ₹30,213 crore Jio Platforms IPO and to RBI intervention. The rupee opened at 94.78 and traded between 94.35 and 94.82, while the dollar index was at 101.59.
Foreign institutions bought a net ₹1,022.30 crore of Indian shares on Wednesday, NSE's provisional figures show, after selling ₹1,148.60 crore on Monday. Domestic institutions bought ₹1,614.30 crore (reading FII and DII data).
| Wednesday 21 October | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nifty 50 | 22,811.35 | −77.60 pts (−0.34%) |
| Sensex | 73,709.69 | −143.21 pts (−0.19%) |
| Bank Nifty | 54,976.90 | −511.20 pts (−0.92%) |
| India VIX | 15.68 | +0.91 (+6.16%) |
| USD/INR | 94.38 | rupee up 53 paise |
Eternal trades on its results for the first time
Eternal reported after Wednesday's close. Net profit rose 92.3% from a year earlier to ₹125 crore, from ₹65 crore, and revenue rose 77.6% to ₹24,138 crore, Kotak Neo reported. Blinkit added 308 stores in the quarter, taking it to 2,751. The shares had closed at ₹312.35 on Wednesday, down 2.45%, before the figures were out.
More than 60 companies report today, Swiggy among them
Upstox counted more than 60 companies due to report September-quarter results today, including Swiggy, Adani Energy Solutions, HPCL, Havells India, Nippon Life India Asset Management, Adani Total Gas, Jindal Stainless, Colgate-Palmolive (India), Chennai Petroleum, CreditAccess Grameen and Jammu and Kashmir Bank. Stocks in News Today has this morning's company news.
The Jio Platforms IPO is in its second day. On day one, the institutional portion was bid 8.37 times and the retail portion 0.66 times, according to 5paisa. Bidding closes on Friday; the price band is ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 a share.
No NSE index contract expires today; NSE's weekly contracts expire on Tuesdays. Further out:
- Friday, 23 October: Infosys results; the Jio Platforms IPO closes.
- Monday, 26 October: Jio Platforms allotment.
- Tuesday, 27 October: monthly F&O expiry; the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting starts.
- Wednesday, 28 October: Jio Platforms' expected listing.
- Tuesday, 10 November: the next NSE trading holiday.
Before the bell
- Eternal in the pre-open session, its first since the results.
- Brent, and whether there are further reports on the Shaybah attack.
- Day-two subscription figures for the Jio Platforms IPO.
Sources
- GIFT Nifty, Nifty 50, Sensex, Bank Nifty, India VIX and Eternal's close: Zerodha Kite market data
- US index closes and reasons: Associated Press via WTOP
- Brent: Trading Economics; WTI, the Shaybah attack and Saudi exports: Trading Economics; US 10-year yield and Fed expectations: Trading Economics; Tokyo: Trading Economics
- Rupee: ThePrint (PTI)
- FII and DII flows: NSE provisional data via 5paisa
- Eternal results: Kotak Neo
- Today's results: Upstox; Jio Platforms IPO: Groww, 5paisa; Infosys date: Kotak Neo
- Holidays and expiry: NSE holiday list and expiry rules
This note summarises public news and data for information only. It is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security, and I don't publish levels, targets or trade ideas. I am not registered with SEBI as an investment adviser or research analyst.