Indian Shares Likely To Open On Cautious Note

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening on a cautious note on Friday amid high levels of investor fatigue related to the war in the Gulf region.

Technology stocks could be in focus after Netflix beat profit estimates for the first quarter but missed with its outlook for Q2.

Wipro, HDFC Life, Alok Industries and VST Industries are among the prominent companies that have reported their quarterly earnings results after market hours on Thursday.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended slightly lower on Thursday, giving up early gains.

The rupee closed a tad stronger at 93.1950 against the dollar on growing optimism over a potential deal to the end the Iran war.

FIIs net bought shares worth Rs. 382 crore on Thursday while domestic financial institutions offloaded shares to the extent of Rs. 3,428 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were broadly lower this morning, snapping a three-day rally as investors await clarity on how the negotiations between the United States and Iran will take shape.

The dollar was on track for its second weekly loss and gold was little changed around $4,790 an ounce while Treasuries held steady.

Global crude benchmark Brent slipped nearly 1 percent toward $98 a barrel after Trump expressed optimism about securing a permanent ceasefire with Iran ahead of the expiry of the current truce next week.

Trump has claimed that Tehran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium, provide "free oil" and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, adding he would go to Pakistan if a deal is reached.

Iran's state-owned broadcaster IRIB claimed the U.S. leader was "building castles in the air."

IMF Executive Director Fatih Birol has warned that Europe has about six weeks of jet fuel left and restoring a meaningful portion of disrupted oil and gas output could take up to two years.

Overnight, U.S. stocks eked out modest gains after reports emerged that the U.S. and Iran may extend the ceasefire by two weeks in order to allow more time for talks.

Uncertainty around the Iran war and rising oil prices capped the upside as defense secretary Pete Hegseth criticized media coverage of the war on Iran and warned Iran of restarting devastating military strikes against Tehran's critical infrastructure, if the two nations fail to reach a peace agreement.

In economic news, new applications for employment benefits fell more than expected last week, but manufacturing unexpectedly lost momentum in March after two straight months of solid gains, separate reports showed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively to reach new record closing highs as Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The narrower Dow edged up by 0.2 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Thursday as traders weighed progress toward a potential resolution to the Iran war.

The pan-European STOXX 600 finished marginally lower. While France's CAC 40 slid 0.1 percent, the German DAX rose 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.3 percent.