Indian Shares Seen Opening Lower As Oil Spikes

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening a tad lower on Thursday as investors react to exit poll projections for various states, surging oil prices, a divided Federal Reserve policy decision and mixed earnings from mega-cap U.S. companies, with Meta Platforms significantly increasing its investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty jumped around 0.8 percent each on Wednesday despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and renewed foreign fund outflows.

The rupee declined by 31 paise to hit a record closing low of 94.85 against the dollar amid a broader weakening across Asian currencies.

Foreign investors net sold shares worth Rs 2,468 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs 2,262 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were broadly lower this morning despite Chinese manufacturing activity expanding more than expected in April.

Oil prices extended recent gains amid stalled U.S.-Iran talks and concerns that supply disruptions could persist longer than initially expected.

Brent crude futures for July delivery jumped over 1 percent toward $112 a barrel after gaining 5.8 percent in the previous session.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for June delivery were up 1.4 percent at $108.32 a barrel after climbing 7 percent in the previous session.

The dollar hovered near its highest level in more than two weeks while gold recovered some ground and traded 0.7 percent higher at $4,574 an ounce, after having hit a one-month low the day before.

U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed overnight as oil prices surged to over four-year highs on concerns of an extended blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged for the third consecutive meeting in a split 8-4 vote amid inflation concerns and Middle East tensions.

Treasury yields climbed and oil prices moved near levels last seen in 2022 after reports suggested that President Trump had rejected Tehran's proposal to end the war and instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iranian ports until the regime agrees to a nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, concluding his final news conference in the role, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that the energy price surge has not yet peaked and that a prolonged oil shock could intensify its effect on the global economy and monetary policy outlook.

Powell also said he would not leave the Fed board until legal challenges posed by President Trump are "well and truly over."

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan supported keeping rates unchanged but "did not support inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time," signaling a subtle shift toward a more hawkish stance.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up marginally, the S&P 500 ended flat with a negative bias. The narrower Dow dropped 0.6 percent to extend losses for a fifth consecutive session.

European stocks hit a three-week low on Wednesday as investors reacted to mixed corporate earnings results as well as disappointing German inflation and Eurozone sentiment data.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.6 percent. The German DAX dipped 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 tumbled 1.2 percent.