Fed, Oil, and Iran: Markets Bracing for Geopolitical Showdown

Global markets are bracing for a week of intense scrutiny as investors focus on three key themes: the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory, Nvidia's quarterly results, and the unresolved US-Iran conflict.

Ajit Mishra, SVP at Religare Broking Ltd, highlighted the importance of the Jackson Hole symposium, particularly comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman, for indications on future interest rates. He also mentioned that investors will track rupee movement, foreign institutional flows, and domestic liquidity conditions in India.

Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, emphasized the significance of volatile long-dated Treasury yields, which will be closely scrutinized by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's address at the symposium. He added that crude oil remains a major external risk due to the 60-day US-Iran agreement expiring without a lasting settlement.

Foreign portfolio investors have accelerated buying in Indian equities this month, infusing ₹23,544 crore so far in August. Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, predicted that Indian equity markets could consolidate with marginal recovery expected in the near term.