Indian Shares Likely To Open Lower As US Widens Iran Sanctions
(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening lower on Tuesday as investors weigh Middle East tensions and await Nvidia earnings. IMD's warning of below-normal rainfall this year may also keep investors on edge.
Brent crude prices remained elevated above $92 a barrel on rising tensions around Iran after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a wave of new sanctions to isolate the Iranian regime and warned that countries and companies that help Iran move or hide money could face U.S. actions and potentially lose access to the U.S. dollar system.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf brushed off the U.S. threats and mocked Donald Trump with a "Make America Hungry Again" remark. Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said Tehran is "fully prepared" to counter sanctions.
Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended slightly lower on Monday while the rupee gave up early gains to end 3 paise lower at 95.74 against the dollar.
Foreign institutional investors net bought shares worth Rs 1,181.66 crore on Monday while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs 2,493.41 crore, according to provisional exchange data.
Asian markets were mixed this morning, with South Korean stocks leading regional declines on concerns over whether heavy spending on artificial intelligence spending would deliver matching profits.
The U.S. dollar struggled to hold onto gains against major peers while gold held steady at $4,655 an ounce, its highest level in more than three months as investors awaited a key U.S. inflation reading as well as clearer guidance from Federal Reserve Chair Kevi Warsh on the Federal Reserve's likely path on rates for the remainder of the year.
Brent crude futures rose 0.7 percent to $92.78 a barrel, after having fallen more than 2 percent on Monday to snap a six-day winning streak.
An oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile off the coast of Oman and disabled, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. Elsewhere, the Houthis rebel group have claimed an attack on a Saudi oil tanker off the port city of Yanbu in the Red Sea.
U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as a drop in oil prices was offset by concerns over AI-driven debt issuance and the U.S. government's attempts to influence the bond market through aggressive buybacks.
Media reports suggested that the Treasury could use its near $1 trillion General Account to help fund its recently announced bond buyback program.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8 percent to hit a three-week closing low and the S&P 500 dipped 0.3 percent while the narrower Dow gained 0.3 percent.
European stocks also ended mixed on Monday due to continued uncertainty about tariffs and the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended largely unchanged with a positive bias. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent, the German DAX slipped 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent.
