Indian Shares Seen Opening Higher As TCS Tops Estimates

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening a tad higher on Friday even as fresh Israeli strikes on Lebanon cast doubt over the durability of the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his country was ready for direct negotiations with Lebanon, while insisting that Israel's attacks across the country targeting Hezbollah would continue.

The IDF warned Hezbollah may expand rocket attacks beyond northern Israel, raising fears of a wider escalation.

Underscoring the lingering uncertainty and intensifying supply concerns, Brent crude futures held above $96 a barrel in early Asian trade.

According to maritime tracking data, just 10 vessels have passed through Strait of Hormuz since the Middle East war ceasefire took effect, tightening energy supplies and fueling inflationary pressures.

Slamming Iran over Hormuz curbs and the evolving situation, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was "doing a very poor job" and described its conduct as "dishonorable".

Addressing the nation, Iran's newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, declared victory in the West Asia conflict and vowed that Iran will not let the U.S.-Israel go unpunished for their alleged acts of aggression.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell by 1.2 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively on Thursday and government bond yields rose as confusion prevailed over the U.S.-Iran truce terms.

The rupee closed marginally lower at 92.6575 against the dollar amid continued FII selling.

Foreign investors remained net sellers and offloaded shares worth Rs. 1,711 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs. 956 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Software stocks could be in focus today as TCS earnings beat estimates and Anthropic released a preview of its new model, Mythos.

Asian markets were mixed this morning, and the dollar was on track for its biggest weekly fall since January, while gold dipped slightly but was on track for its third weekly gain.

U.S. stocks reversed early losses to end higher overnight after Israel agreed to direct talks with Lebanon "as soon as possible", bolstering expectations for a peaceful resolution to the six-week Middle East conflict.

In economic releases, PCE inflation held firm in February as core prices matched forecasts.

Personal income fell 0.1 percent in the month, missing forecasts for a 0.3 percent rise, while personal spending rose 0.5 percent, meeting expectations.

Fourth-quarter GDP growth was revised lower to a 0.5 percent rate, while jobless claims rebounded last week to their highest level since February.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 0.8 percent to clock their seventh daily gain, while the Dow advanced 0.6 percent.

European shares retreated on Thursday, pulling back from their strongest rally in over four years as the fragile truce agreed between the U.S. and Iran showed signs of strain.

The pan European Stoxx 600 eased 0.2 percent. The German DAX dropped 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally lower.