Sensex, Nifty Seen Lower As US Enters Israel-Iran War

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open on a sluggish note Monday, tracking weak cues from Asian markets and a spike in oil prices after the United States carried out a "very successful attack" on three nuclear sites in Iran and the latter vowed retaliation, saying it "reserves all options."

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iranian retaliation against U.S. assets "will be met with even greater force than what was unleashed today."

Iran launched a missile barrage into Israel this morning, causing damage and injuries in Tel Aviv. Iran's allies in Yemen, the Houthis, said they will join Iran in retaliation.

Oil prices were up nearly 2 percent in Asian trade on fears of a broader regional war and concerns of disruption to energy markets.

Both Brent and WTI contracts jumped more than four percent to hit their highest price since January earlier in the session.

Iran is the world's ninth-biggest oil-producing country, with output of about 3.3 million barrels per day. It exports just under half of that amount and keeps the rest for domestic consumption.

Asian markets traded lower this morning and the dollar strengthened against rivals while gold prices were slightly lower.

U.S. stocks fell broadly on Friday as investors reacted to rising Middle East tensions and pondered future rate decisions.

The S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined half a percent after reports emerged the U.S. may revoke waivers for some semiconductor firms.

The narrower Dow finished marginally higher as Fed Governor Christopher Waller said that he doesn't expect tariffs to boost inflation significantly and that there is room for a rate cut as early as July.

European stocks ended mostly higher on Friday after declining for three straight sessions. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.1 percent higher.

The German DAX rallied 1.3 percent and France's CAC 40 added half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent after the release of weak retail sales data.

Closer home, benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended on a positive note during the week ended June 20, snapping a two-week- losing streak.

The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty both gained around 1.6 percent during the week, driven by sustained buying by foreign institutional investors and the Reserve Bank of India's decision to ease provisioning rules on infrastructure loans.