Summary of this article
The Indian market expects a muted start as the Gift Nifty tracks geopolitical tensions and global cues.
Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies lead the Q3FY26 earnings season with results scheduled for today.
Rising crude oil prices and ongoing FII outflows worth Rs 3,769.31 crore continue to dampen investor sentiment.
Stock Market Cues: On January 12, the headline indices are likely to start the session on a cautious and muted note. The Gift Nifty opened lower at 25,795.50 down by nearly 65.99 points or 0.26 per cent the benchmark Nifty is expected to track the gains.
On January 9, the headline indices finished lower. The BSE Sensex finished the session with a decline of 0.72 per cent, 604.72 points around the 83,576.24. On the other hand, the Nifty 50 closed lower by 0.75 per cent down by 193.55 points at the 25,683.30 level.
Stock Market Cues For Today
On January 12, the US-Iran conflict, changes in commodity prices, the onset of the Q3FY26 earnings season are set to frame market sentiment on D-street:
US-Iran conflict
Iran has witnessed protests since late 2025 amid the collapse of the Iranian Rial (now trading at over 1.4 million per USD) and inflation exceeding 50 per cent. Amid the Iranian State’s violent efforts to curb the protest, US President Donald Trump has said that the US is considering various measures. On January 10, Trump told reporters that the US military was studying “very strong options” for a potential military action against Iran. On the other hand, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned the US that Iran will retaliate and respond forcefully to the unrest. The geopolitical upheaval in the region is expected to increase uncertainty and lead to a risk-off sentiment in the market.
Crude Oil Prices Today
On January 12, crude oil prices traded higher as the price of West Texas Intermediate was around $59.18, up by $0.06 or 0.10 per cent. The price of Brent Crude was around $63.41 up by $0.07 or 0.11 per cent in the early hours of the day.
Gold Prices On January 12
Physical gold prices edged marginally lower in the early hours of January 12 as the price of 24 karat traded around Rs 14,045 per gram, the price of 22 karat purity gold was around Rs 12,874 per gram and the price of 18 karat gold was around Rs 10,533 per gram.
Q3 Earnings Season
The Q3FY26 earnings season is set to begin today with IT-enabled services behemoths such as Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies announcing their quarterly results on January 12. As many as 17 companies are set to announce their quarterly results today.
FII Inflows
FIIs turned net sellers of Indian equities on January 9 selling Indian equities worth Rs 3,769.31 crore. On the other hand, Domestic Institutional Investors continued to remain net buyers purchasing Indian equities worth Rs 5,595.84 crore.
Asian Indices Trade Mixed
On January 12, all major Asian indices traded higher in the early hours of the session. The Nikkei 225 and the Hang Seng traded with gains of 1.58 per cent and 0.84 per cent respectively. On the other hand, the KOSPI and the Shanghai Composite traded higher by 1.09 per cent and 0.75 per cent respectively.
US Markets
US market indices closed the session with gains on January 9. The Nasdaq Composite closed with gains of 0.14 per cent. On the other hand, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed higher by 0.82 per cent and 0.65 per cent respectively.
