Indian Markets Poised for Cautious Opening as Oil Prices Near $100

(RTTNews) – Indian shares are expected to open lower on Wednesday as investors worry about elevated oil prices and rising tensions in the Middle East.

Brent crude climbed toward $100 per barrel, reflecting renewed Gulf tensions that have sparked concerns about potential disruptions to global oil supplies.

Iran fired a volley of missiles at U.S. military sites in Jordan and urged tanker crews in Bahrain and Kuwait to vacate their vessels immediately, whether anchored or docked, following the U.S. destruction of five Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island, a key crude export hub.

A U.S. official said the missile strikes were retaliation for Iran’s alleged twice‑in‑two‑day attempts to hit a U.S. warship with ballistic missiles.

Rising global bond yields may heighten investor anxiety ahead of this week’s crucial U.S. inflation data, which could shape expectations for a possible Federal Reserve rate hike at its September 15‑16 meeting.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty slipped 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively, on Tuesday as concerns grew that rising energy prices could increase input costs and inflationary pressures for Indian companies.

The rupee fell 33 paise to Rs 94.82 per dollar, marking its steepest one‑day decline in almost two months amid worries over rising oil prices and escalating West Asian tensions.

Foreign institutional investors became net sellers, offloading shares valued at Rs 123.19 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares amounting to Rs 1,349.64 crore, per provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were mixed this morning, with Japanese and Seoul indices rising as chip stocks continued to gain on sustained investor interest in the artificial‑intelligence trade.

The U.S. dollar fluctuated in Asian trading, while gold edged up about 0.5% to $4,373 an ounce after three consecutive declines.

U.S. equities closed lower overnight as traders returned from the Labor Day holiday; the Dow fell 1.2%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3% as higher energy prices and rising bond yields tempered expectations for inflation and the Fed’s rate path.

Renewed U.S.–Canada trade tensions also dampened sentiment, as Canada imposed U.S. tariffs dollar‑for‑dollar on 700 products across several industries.

European equities closed lower on Tuesday amid concerns over rate hikes and political uncertainty in Germany.

The pan‑European STOXX 600 slipped slightly; the German DAX was largely unchanged, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1%, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged down marginally.

Source link