Indian Shares Set To Extend Losses As Oil Extends Surge

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening lower on Thursday, tracking mixed cues from global markets.

Oil prices remain elevated at six-week highs on widening Middle East tensions and fears of further disruption to crude supplies after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have claimed an attack on two Saudi oil tankers transiting through the Red Sea.

The latest escalation has pushed WTI crude toward $89 a barrel, while Brent crude prices extended gains for a fifth straight session to surge above $95 a barrel, rekindling inflation worries and clouding the outlook for interest rates.

Syed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said his country would adopt an "eye for an eye" defense doctrine as the U.S. military carried out a 12th straight night of strikes against Iran.

It is feared that Brent prices could climb back above $100 a barrel soon if the Middle East conflict drags on.

Earnings will also be in the spotlight ahead of Infosys' quarterly results due later in the day.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively on Wednesday, extending losses for a third day running and wiping out about Rs. 4.2 lakh crore from investors' wealth as risk aversion gripped global markets amid heightened Middle East tensions and U.S. trade policy uncertainty.

The rupee settled 34 paise lower at 96.59 against the dollar, nearing a two-month low on concerns over rising oil prices in international markets.

Foreign institutional investors turned net sellers in Indian equities and offloaded shares worth Rs 819.20 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors net sold shares worth Rs 418.26 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were mostly higher this morning after U.S. technology companies outlined significant capital spending plans.

The U.S. dollar extended modest losses from the previous session ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting, with traders expecting no change in policy rates.

Gold slipped to $4,115 an ounce, easing from a two-week high amid West Asia tensions.

Overnight, U.S. stocks struggled for direction before finishing lower as investors weighed escalating Middle East tensions and awaited key tech earnings for direction.

As the U.S. military competed its 11th consecutive day of strikes on Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. remains open to a diplomatic settlement of the conflict, but Iran is "not serious about talks."

In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump threatened to bomb and destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant any time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6 percent as short-term Treasury yields hit 17-week highs and oil prices climbed another 3 percent. The S&P 500 slid 0.1 percent and the Dow finished marginally lower.

European stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with encouraging corporate earnings announcements and soft U.K. inflation data helping underpin investor sentiment.

The pan-European STOXX 600 advanced 0.6 percent. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 1.2 percent.