Indian shares set to open lower as crude rises above $100; NSE listing in focus
- GIFT Nifty futures were at 23,270 points
Indian shares are set to open lower on Thursday after oil prices rose above $100 a barrel in the previous session following Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s comments at the UN General Assembly that Tehran will never surrender to US pressure.
Iran and the United States remain divided over how to bring an end to their war, but diplomacy must continue, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the market’s focus is on the listing of India’s biggest bourse, the National Stock Exchange of India, which is set for a modest 2%-3% gain in its trading debut as investors weigh its leading position against slowing derivatives activity, according to analysts.
GIFT Nifty futures were at 23,270 points, as of 8:02 a.m. IST, indicating a negative start for the benchmark Nifty 50 index, which closed at 23,446.8 on Wednesday.
Brent crude hovered around $102.5 a barrel on Thursday after gaining 4% in the previous session.
Higher oil prices are detrimental to the world’s third-largest importer, India, as they add to the import bill, intensify inflationary fears and drag corporate profitability.
Other Asian markets fell 0.6%, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as the benchmark Treasury yield climbed to its highest level since 2007 on Wednesday.
The odds of an October rate hike by the Federal Reserve rose to 66% from 53% a day earlier after data showed US business activity surged to a more than five-year high in September.
A rebound in crude oil prices, driven by renewed uncertainty over the US-Iran diplomatic process and rising US Treasury yields, is likely to trigger some profit-taking in domestic markets following the previous session’s gains, according to two traders.
Among other stocks, insurers and lenders will be in focus after the country’s insurance regulator proposed overhauling commission rules to cap payouts, link them to product complexity and spread life insurers’ commissions beyond a policy’s first year.