Sensex, Nifty Set To Open Higher On Trade Deal Hopes

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open sharply higher on Thursday after Muhurat Trading reflected a tone of cautious optimism.

Investors are pinning hopes for a U.S.-India trade deal, with reports suggesting that both countries are close to finalizing a long-awaited bilateral trade deal that could sharply lower tariffs on Indian exports to about 15-16 percent from the current average of 50 percent.

It was said that India may agree to gradually scale down its imports of Russian crude oil in return for tariff concessions from Washington.

That said, volatility cannot be ruled out as investors react to a lack of progress in Ukraine peace talks and a surge in oil prices after the Trump administration announced sanctions on Russia's biggest oil producers.

Asian markets were broadly lower this morning and the dollar index was little changed as Sino-U.S. trade tensions mount.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries was steady after falling one basis point to 3.95 percent on Wednesday as an auction of 20-year bonds drew strong demand.

Gold extended losses for a third day running, edging back toward $4,000 an ounce due to profit taking ahead of key U.S. inflation data due this week.

Oil prices jumped more than 2 percent, rising for a third consecutive session as Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term.

U.S. stocks fell overnight as Netflix reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings, Texas Instruments disappointed with its Q4 guidance, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the White House is weighing curbs on exports to China made with U.S. software in retaliation for Beijing's latest round of rare earth export restrictions.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.9 percent, the Dow dipped 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 declined half a percent.

European stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said meeting Russia's Vladimir Putin would be a "waste of time" and that an upcoming meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, might not happen.

The pan-European STOXX 600 slid 0.2 percent. The German DAX dropped 0.7 percent and France's CAC 40 fell 0.6 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.9 percent on pound weakness after the release of soft inflation data.