Sensex, Nifty Set To Extend Losses On Economic Concerns

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening lower on Friday as concerns over U.S. tariffs and economic growth overshadow positive earnings from major tech companies.

After announcing a U.S.-Pakistan deal to develop Pakistan's 'massive oil reserves,' U.S. President Donald Trump has slashed tariff rates on Bangladesh and Pakistan.

A senior American official has warned that deep geopolitical rifts—ranging from BRICS ties to Russian oil purchases—can't be resolved "overnight."

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said the Centre is studying the implications of the move and will take steps to safeguard India's interests.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fluctuated before ending down around 0.4 percent each on Thursday as Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on India along with an additional unspecified penalty for buying oil and defense equipment from Russia.

Trump also criticized India-Russia ties, announced a Pakistan oil deal and imposed sanctions on six Indian companies for importing oil and petrochemical products from Iran, potentially derailing ongoing trade negotiations.

The rupee touched 87.74 before paring some losses to close at a record low of 87.59 per dollar, weighed down by U.S. tariff concerns, persistent foreign portfolio outflows and a strong dollar index in international markets.

Asian markets were mostly lower this morning as the U.S. slapped dozens of trading partners with steep tariffs, ranging from 10 percent to 41 percent.

Rates were set at 20 percent for Taiwan's U.-S.-bound exports, 19 percent for Thailand and 15 percent for South Korea.

Trump increased duties on Canadian goods to 35 percent from 25 percent for all products not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but Mexico got a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs to negotiate a broader trade deal.

The U.S. has warned China of 100 percent tariffs over sanctioned Russian oil purchases.

On the data front, a private gauge of China's manufacturing activity returned to contractionary territory in July.

Brent crude futures slipped from six-week highs on concerns that the economic fallout of U.S. tariffs could weigh on global growth and dent global energy demand.

Gold dipped below $3,300 an ounce and the dollar strengthened ahead of the all-important U.S. jobs data due later in the day that could influence the Federal Reserve's rate trajectory.

U.S. stocks reversed course to end lower overnight as economic concerns offset upbeat earnings news from tech giants Meta Platforms and Microsoft.

The Fed's preferred measure of underlying inflation accelerated in June to one of the fastest paces this year while consumer spending barely rose, clouding the outlook for economic growth and interest rates.

Meanwhile, as the clock ticked down to the tariff deadline, President Trump announced a trade deal with South Korea, a 90-day extension of the 25 percent blanket tariff on Mexican imports as well as 25 percent tariff on cars and a 50 percent tariff on steel, aluminum and copper.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview that he believes the U.S. and China "have the makings of a deal" and expressed confidence an agreement would be reached.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower, the S&P 500 dipped 0.4 percent and the Dow gave up 0.7 percent.

European stocks ended at over one-week low on Thursday, with some disappointing earnings and trade tensions keeping investors on edge.

The pan European STOXX 600 declined 0.8 percent. The German DAX shed 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 lost 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended marginally lower.