Indian Shares Seen Higher At Open After Trump's Russia Diesel Deal

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open higher on Monday as a U.S.-Russia deal on 500,000 metric tons of fuel to reach international markets cast doubt on the likelihood of the White House imposing new sanctions on Russia.

Additionally, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an "energy ceasefire" effective immediately, pressuring Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian refineries and threatening to cut intelligence and weapons support if Kyiv didn't comply.

Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continued after the announcement. Volodymyr Zelanskiy stated Ukraine supports the ceasefire if Russia reciprocates. Moscow has not responded.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a series of measures to support the falling rupee, including a dedicated dollar window for oil marketing companies through designated banks and higher costs for certain foreign exchange hedging transactions.

Analysts said the move will reduce dollar demand in the spot market and curb speculative positions against the rupee.

Asian markets were mixed this morning, with South Korea's Kospi falling more than 2 percent due to worsening investor sentiment in the semiconductor sector on growing concerns over the AI industry in the U.S. Markets elsewhere traded higher with a holiday in Japan keeping regional trading volumes light.

The U.S. dollar hovered near its strongest level in a year and a half, while gold rose half a percent to trade above $4,200 an ounce after a moderate retreat in U.S. Treasury yields.

Brent crude futures fell nearly 2 percent below $103 a barrel in early Asian trade, halting a two-session rally amid expectations that Trump's deal to purchase millions of tons of diesel from Russia could help alleviate global fuel shortages.

That said, the downside in oil prices was capped by fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia's aviation infrastructure by Iran-backed Houthi militants and a drone strike on a tanker near the Sohar anchorage off Oman.

After the deadly airport strike, U.S. President Trump said he is considering joining Saudi Arabia in its retaliation against Houthis in Yemen.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday to close a record-setting week after the announcement of major deals in the technology and communications sectors.

Investors monitored developments in energy markets after President Trump announced a deal to obtain diesel from Russia to lower fuel prices and blamed Ukraine for war and energy crisis in a sharp reversal of U.S. policy ahead of the midterm elections.

It was stated that Russian supplies would begin with over 300,000 tons immediately, followed by additional quantities throughout November.

Investors shrugged off the results of a survey, which showed sentiment among U.S. consumers deteriorated for a third straight month in October as a result of rising cost of living because of the Middle East conflict.

While the Dow rose 0.8 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both gained around 0.6 percent.

European stocks recovered from four-month lows on Friday as oil prices and bond yields eased on U.S. President Trump's remarks dismissing speculation of pre-midterm military action against Iran.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 1 percent. The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both climbed 1.1 percent while France's CAC 40 added 1 percent.