Indian equity markets are likely to make gap-down opening on Thursday as tensions in West Asia intensified, following attacks on Iran’s South Pars gas field. Sentiments may remain subdued as the US Federal Reserve kept interest rate unchanged and warned that surging energy prices could stoke inflation. Additionally, some cautiousness may come from foreign portfolio investors, who recorded net sales of equities worth Rs 2,714.35 crore on Wednesday.   

Some of the key factors to be watched:  

Direct tax collection up 7.1% to Rs 22.8 lakh crore: Data released by the Income Tax Department showed the net direct tax collection grew 7.1 per cent to about Rs 22.8 lakh crore till March 17 this fiscal due to slower refunds and higher corporate tax mop-up. 

Banks' fresh slippages to rise amid stress in retail, MSME segment: The report by ICRA and ASSOCHAM said fresh slippages in the banking sector are expected to rise in the near term due to emerging stress in the retail and MSME segments, even as overall asset quality remains strong. 

RBI to conduct Rs 75 000 crore 3-day variable rate repo auction on March 20: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it will conduct a three-day variable rate repo (VRR) auction of Rs 75,000 crore on March 20. 

India's over 1.7 million tonnes of oil, LNG, LPG stuck in Strait of Hormuz: Special Secretary in the Shipping Ministry, Rajesh Kumar Sinha said India's 1.67 million tonnes of crude oil, 3.2 lakh tonnes of LPG and about 2 lakh tonnes of LNG are stuck on the 22 Indian-flagged ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, waiting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Cabinet approves Rs 2 585 crore Small Hydro Power Development Scheme: The Union Cabinet has approved a small hydro power development scheme with an outlay of Rs 2,585 crore to boost the development of 1,500 MW of renewable capacity. 

On the global front: The US markets ended lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve voted to hold rates steady, while Chair Jerome Powell expressed concerns over progress on inflation. Asian markets are trading in red on Thursday following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. 

Back home, extending their winning run to the third day in a row, Indian equity benchmarks ended around a per cent higher on Wednesday, amid a slight drop in crude oil prices and a firm trend in global peers. A rally in IT, Realty and Telecom stocks also led to the optimistic trend in the domestic markets. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 633.29 points or 0.83% to 76,704.13 and the CNX Nifty was up by 196.65 points or 0.83% to 23,777.80. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India, EU discuss Energy Security amid West Asia conflict: The escalating conflict in West Asia and its ripple effects on global energy security figured prominently in External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's high-level talks with his counterparts from the 27 European Union (EU) member states in Brussels.

Ramping up domestic LPG production to ensure supplies to households: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the domestic production of LPG is being ramped up to ensure cooking gas supply to households during turbulent times amid the West Asia crisis.

India Inc raises $5.33 billion in January via ECBs, FCCBs: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data report has showed that Indian companies raised a total of $5.33 billion from overseas markets during the month of January 2026, through External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) and Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs).