Indian shares likely to rebound after selloff, but oil surge may cap gains

Business Recorder reported that Indian shares are expected to open higher on Friday, as benchmark indexes may bounce back from a steep sell-off that drove them into oversold territory. The previous session saw the Sensex close at a 32-month low and the Nifty 50 slide to its weakest level in 18 months, with the Nifty finishing at 22,231.80. GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 22,379.5 early on Friday, pointing to a firmer start.

Foreign investors sold a net 129.44 billion Indian rupees ($1.3 billion) of equities on Thursday, their largest single-session outflow since May 29, 2026, while domestic institutions bought 107.03 billion rupees. Worries over costly crude, global bond yields, a softer rupee and inflation followed a tighter rate hike from the RBI earlier in the week. Brent crude hovered around $104 a barrel after a 4% gain on Thursday, reflecting Middle East tensions and supply worries linked to a hurricane near the US Gulf Coast.

Analysts cited in the report see a possible short-term technical bounce, though heavyweight IT shares may limit gains. Tata Consultancy Services posted revenue growth in the September quarter that was the slowest in three years, while the United States suspended several large IT outsourcing firms from the Permanent Labor Certification Program, a key green-card pathway. Bajaj Broking's head of research, Sumit Singhania, said Indian IT firms are already under strain and the new US move adds further doubt.