Indian Shares Set For Muted Start

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening little changed on Friday despite lower oil prices and easing Fed rate-hike bets.

Tariff worries may keep investors on edge after the United States named India and more than 40 other countries in a report on Chinese goods rerouted to dodge American tariffs, and a U.S. court ruled in favor of President Donald Trump's 2025 decision to rescind a "de minimis" exemption for tariffs.

In another significant development, Trump signed a proclamation introducing new tariffs of up to 100 percent on imported unmanned aircraft systems and their components to encourage increased domestic production. The tariffs will take effect in 21 days.

A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill may also expose India to tariffs of up to 100 percent over Russian oil purchases, but Commerce Secretary Rajest Agarwal played down the threat, saying trade talks with Washington have been reassuring.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty cut early losses to end mixed on Thursday while the rupee fell 12 paise to close at 95.45 against the dollar amid lingering geopolitical risks.

Foreign institutional investors net sold shares worth Rs. 510.69 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs. 4,353.09 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were mixed this morning, even as technology stocks extended gains amid renewed enthusiasm for artificial-intelligence stocks.

Gold was subdued at $4,315 an ounce after retreating from a 10-week high due to prevailing uncertainty over efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The precious metal, however, remained on track for a second weekly gain on easing rate-hike worries.

Brent crude futures traded lower at $86.78 a barrel after falling over 2 percent in the previous session to snap a six-day advance on forecasts of weaker global demand and data showing a sharp build in U.S. crude inventories.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed higher as falling oil prices on demand concerns coupled with soft producer price inflation data reinforced bets that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged next month.

The producer price reading was flat in July compared with expectations for a 0.2 percent increase. On an annual basis, it slowed to 4.7 percent from 5.5 percent in June.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 0.8 percent to reach a two-month closing high and the S&P 500 added 0.7 percent to hit a new record closing high while the narrower Dow ticked up 0.1 percent.

European stocks edged lower on Thursday amid uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The pan-European STOXX 600 finished marginally lower. The German DAX slid 0.1 percent, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.6 percent.