Indian Shares Set To Follow Global Peers Lower

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening lower on Friday, though overall losses may remain capped somewhat after U.S. President Donald Trump extended the pause on U.S. strikes against Iran's energy infrastructure by 10 days, adding talks with Iran were going "very well."

However, an Iranian official described the proposal for ending the war as "one-sided and unfair."

The Middle East conflict showed no signs of easing as fresh strikes were reported in Iran, Israel and Lebanon.

Israel struck key infrastructure at multiple locations inside Iran, while Iranian missiles targeted Israel and the UAE.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is considering sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East.

The U.S. has deployed uncrewed drone speedboats for patrols as part of its operations against Iran, Reuters reported.

Israel's Defense Forces said Thursday that Iranian naval commander Alireza Tangsiri has been killed in a "precise strike" in the port city of Bandar Abbas.

Indian stock markets were closed on Thursday on the eve of Ram Navami festival.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty surged 1.6 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively on Wednesday to extend gains from the previous session on expectations of a de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict.

The rupee neared 94 against the dollar before closing at 93.97 on likely central bank intervention.

Foreign investors net sold shares worth Rs 1,805 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares to the extent of Rs 5,430 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were broadly lower this morning while the dollar pushed higher toward multi-month peaks amid the intensifying Middle East war. Gold jumped more than 1 percent to hold above $4,400 an ounce but headed for a fourth weekly drop.

Benchmark Brent crude prices fell nearly 2 percent to trade below $106 a barrel in Asian trade after Trump said Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this week. WTI crude futures traded below $93 a barrel.

Overnight, U.S. stocks fell by the most since the beginning of Iran war as oil prices resumed their climb amid uncertainty over the situation in the Middle East.

Tehran rebutted the U.S. president's fifteen-point ceasefire proposal and responded with conditions of its own.

President Donald Trump claimed that Iranian negotiators were "begging for a deal" and "they better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won't be pretty!"

Gulf countries have issued a joint statement condemning Iran's "criminal" attacks on their energy infrastructure, signaling a readiness to act in "self-defense" and reaffirming their right to "take all necessary measures to safeguard sovereignty, security, and stability."

As the West Asia crisis deepens, OECD and the Asian Development Bank both cautioned against the adverse impact of energy prices on inflation and global growth.

OECD predicted that the average inflation rate for G20 countries this year would rise to 4 percent, up from its December prediction of 2.8 percent.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 2.4 percent to confirm a correction and the S&P 500 plunged 1.7 percent to reach its lowest level since early last September while the Dow declined 1 percent.

European stocks snapped a three-day winning streak on Thursday as heightened geopolitical tensions and rising energy prices stoked concerns of a possible rate hike by the European Central Bank.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 1.1 percent. The German DAX lost 1.5 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 1.3 percent.