Indian equities are set to open lower on Friday, tracking declines in Asian markets, after Israel launched military strikes on Iran, escalating tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.
The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,706.5 as of 7:46 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open about 0.75% below Thursday’s close of 24,888.2.
The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index fell 0.4%, while safe havens like gold and the Swiss franc gained and oil prices surged amid fears of a supply disruption.
Israel said it struck Iranian nuclear targets to block Tehran from developing atomic weapons.
The U.S. has ruled out any involvement in the strikes against Iran.
The escalation could weigh on global financial markets already reeling under trade uncertainties.
Back home, a drop in domestic inflation could offer the market some relief. India’s retail inflation eased to 2.82% in May - a more-than-six-year low and the fourth straight month below the central bank’s 4% target - reinforcing the case for a steep rate cut last week.
Meanwhile, aviation-linked stocks including airline operators Interglobe Aviation and SpiceJet will be in focus after an Air India plane crashed in the city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing nearly all of the 242 people on board, in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
Market attention will also be on Adani Enterprises, the operator of the airport.
India shares stumble on trade uncertainty
The crash, which marks the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 787, spurred a 5% drop in the plane maker’s shares in the U.S. on Thursday.
India’s Nifty and BSE Sensex lost about 1% each on Thursday on lingering uncertainty around the U.S.-China trade deal and mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Foreign investors sold Indian shares worth 38.31 billion rupees ($448 million) in the previous session, even as domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for 18 straight sessions.
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