Sensex, Nifty Set To Open Lower As Tech-led Selloff Hits Asia

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open lower on Wednesday amid a broad selloff in global technology stocks.

Trade concerns may also weigh after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed some of the "richest families in India" are involved in the country's "unacceptable" "profiteering" from buying and reselling Russian crude, while reiterating plans to boost tariffs on the South Asian nation.

A day earlier, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro in a column for the Financial Times lambasted India's "Big Oil Lobby" for driving purchases of Russian oil.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around half a percent each on Tuesday to extend strong gains from the previous session amid hopes that Prime Minister Modi's recent GST reforms will potentially ease inflation and pave the way for further rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The rupee appreciated 0.45 percent to close at 86.96 against the dollar, marking its largest single-day gain in over six weeks supported by optimism over GST restructuring and efforts on Ukraine peace settlement.

Foreign investors turned net sellers again after a day of buying and offloaded shares worth Rs 634 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares to the tune of Rs 2,261 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were mixed this morning, with benchmark indexes in South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan retreating as a sharp selloff in heavyweight U.S. technology shares rippled through regional markets.

Treasuries held steady, gold was marginally lower, and the dollar extended gains for a third straight session as focus shifted to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak on Friday.

Oil edged up slightly after falling in the previous session amid signs of progress in talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower overnight as tech stocks faced selling pressure amid apprehensions that intense enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence could be overdone.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.5 percent, and the S&P 500 declined 0.6 percent while the Dow finished marginally higher as Home Depot affirmed its guidance and said demand is improving.

European stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors cheered renewed diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.7 percent. The German DAX rose half a percent, France's CAC 40 rallied 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.3 percent.