Indian Shares Set To Open Higher On Dovish Fed Comments

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open higher on Friday as dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller prompted traders to scale back expectations of a Federal Reserve rate increase this month.

A weaker dollar and lower U.S. bond yields may help underpin sentiment, but volatility cannot be ruled out as Brent prices remained elevated around $96 a barrel on fears of prolonged disruptions to crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty gave up early gains to end down about half a percent and 0.2 percent, respectively on Thursday.

The rupee rose by 49 paise to close at 94.48 against the dollar, extending its winning streak for the fifth straight session and reaching a two-and-a-half-month high after Indian banks mobilized a record $136.38 billion through special RBI foreign-exchange schemes.

Foreign institutional investors turned net sellers in Indian equities and offloaded shares worth Rs. 2,345.87 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs. 4,977.46 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets followed Wall Street higher this morning, while the U.S. dollar was little changed and gold edged up to $4,480 an ounce ahead of the all-important U.S. jobs report due later in the day.

Brent crude futures held firm around $96 a barrel and were up nearly 9 percent so far this week on growing concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East.

Iran claimed to have conducted retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases in Kuwait and UAE for a second day in a row as U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Washington can attack Iran 'anytime we want.'

Iranian Vie President Mohammad Reza Aref said that Iran will adopt an "asymmetric" and "multi-layered" response to any future U.S. attacks and warned, "Dark months await the American economy."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that toppling Iran's government is now a central Israeli objective and "within reach."

U.S. stocks rose overnight while bond yields fell after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller argued in favor of keeping rates unchanged at the upcoming policy meeting.

On the economic front, jobless claims rose marginally last week amid low layoffs, signaling a stable labor market. Growth in the services sector accelerated unexpectedly in August but rising input prices pointed to elevated inflation.

In geopolitical news, Vice President JD Vance ruled out talks with Iran until it stops attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, adding "all options" remain on the table in dealing with Tehran.

The Dow jumped 1.2 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 1.1 percent.

European stocks closed higher on Thursday after three straight sessions of losses.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gained half a percent as a global bond sell-off eased and the final PMI readings showed Eurozone business activity maintained steadier growth in August.

The German DAX surged 0.6 percent, France's CAC 40 inched up 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent.