Indian Shares Set To Plunge As Oil Concerns Return To Haunt

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open sharply lower on Thursday, tracking weak cues from global markets as geopolitics and energy-driven inflation concerns take center stage.

The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain," the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement.

Oil prices resumed their upward trend as the Middle East conflict moved beyond headlines to hit the core of the global energy system.

Brent crude futures soared nearly 4 percent in early Asian trade while WTI crude prices were up more than 1 percent after Israel and Iran struck Iranian and wider Middle East energy assets.

Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City, home to the world's biggest LNG export terminal, suffered significant damage following a missile strike.

In Iran, energy and petrochemical assets in Asaluyeh were hit, raising concerns about regional supply chains.

Abu Dhabi temporarily halted operations at its Habshan gas facilities after missile interceptions led to falling debris.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty jumped around 0.8 percent each to extend gains for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as oil prices eased on signs of rising inventory and the government said there is no fuel shortage in the country.

The rupee fell by 26 paise to close at 92.63 against the greenback due to continued capital outflows.

Foreign investors net sold shares worth Rs 2,714 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares to the extent of Rs 3,253 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were deep in the red this morning while the dollar strengthened across the board and the yield on two-year U.S. Treasuries climbed two basis points to 3.79 percent as investors scaled back expectations for any Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026.

Gold traded higher above $4,850 an ounce after plummeting to an over one-month low on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks tumbled overnight while Treasury yields jumped as oil prices remained elevated, Fed Chair Jerome Powell struck a more hawkish tone on inflation and data showed inflation at the U.S. wholesale level unexpectedly accelerated last month to 3.4 percent.

After leaving interest rates unchanged, Powell said in his pot-meeting press conference that the U.S. is seeing "some progress on inflation" but "not as much as we had hoped."

Fed officials' latest projections predicted a quarter point rate cut this year, but Powell warned that "you won't see the rate cut" if there isn't further progress on inflation because of the broader uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict and President Trump's tariffs.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 1.5 percent, the Dow plunged 1.6 percent and the S&P 500 plummeted 1.4 percent to reach near four-month lows.

European stocks settled lower on Wednesday, failing to hold early gains as focus shifted to major central bank decisions.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 declined 0.8 percent. The German DAX lost 1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 0.9 percent and France's CAC 40 finished marginally lower.