Indian Shares May Rebound As Oil Steadies After Recent Spike

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening higher on Thursday as oil prices paused their rapid climb and solid readings on the U.S. labor market and services growth suggested the world's largest economy remains remarkably resilient.

Tariff concerns may cap potential gains after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the global import tariff rate could soon increase from the current 10 percent to 15 percent.

"It's my strong belief that the tariff rates will be back to their old rate within five months," Bessent said during a CNBC interview.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty tumbled around 1.5 percent each on Wednesday as rising uncertainty in global trade and energy markets spooked investors.

The rupee plunged 67 paise to close at a record low of 92.16 against U.S. dollar amid the risk-off situation prevailing all around the globe in the wake of the U.S.-Iran crisis.

According to provisional data, foreign institutional investors sold Indian shares worth about Rs 11,000 crore over two trading sessions.

Asian markets traded higher this morning following days of declines. South Korea's Kospi rebounded more than 10 percent, Japan's Nikkei index surged nearly 3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up more than 1 percent while gains were modest elsewhere across the region.

The dollar fell the most in about three weeks, helping gold prices climb toward $5,200 an ounce.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said Wednesday that he believes it is appropriate to continue cutting interest rates despite the Iran war.

Brent crude futures were modestly higher in early Asian trade today after ending little changed in the New York trading session overnight. However, WTI crude futures were up more than 2 percent.

U.S. stocks ended higher overnight as oil prices stabilized after a recent run-up on news that the U.S. will discuss offering ships insurance and military escorts to help ease the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz.

Défense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the Trump administration, saying the war could last up to eight weeks, but might be over sooner.

"Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we're going to keep them off balance."

Investors also cheered upbeat economic data, with private employers adding more jobs than anticipated in February and the U.S. services sector activity surging to more than a 3-1/2-year high in the month.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent and the Dow rose half a percent.

European stocks also closed on a firm note Wednesday, recovering fairly well after two successive days of sharp losses amid inflation worries sparked by the U.S.-Iran war.

The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced 1.4 percent. The German DAX rallied 1.7 percent, while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both rose by 0.8 percent.