Sensex, Nifty Seen Lower As Investors Monitor Trade, Geopolitical Developments

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open lower on Thursday as oil prices climbed on signs of rising tensions in the Middle East and U.S. President Donald Trump said he would notify trading partners within the next one to two weeks about the new unilateral tariff rates, with the choice to accept or reject them.

Meanwhile, Trump announced a new trade deal with China, but details and confirmation from China were lacking.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around 0.2 percent each on Wednesday, with IT stocks leading the surge.

The rupee gained 11 paise to close at 85.51 against the dollar, breaking a two-day flat trend.

Asian markets were mixed this morning and U.S. equity futures dipped as investors react to the latest tariff developments.

The dollar weakened while gold held firm near $3,370 per ounce on rising U.S.-Iran tensions, soft U.S. CPI data and expectations for two Fed reductions by the end of 2025.

Oil prices were slightly lower after surging over 4 percent on Wednesday to hit a two-month high amid escalating Middle East tensions.

Trump said he was now "less confident" in striking a nuclear deal with Iran, eroding hopes of a diplomatic resolution. The White House has warned of military measures should negotiations fail.

Washington's move to allow dependents to leave Bahrain and Kuwait amid fears of retaliation raised fear that any conflict could disrupt shipping routes or oil infrastructure across the Gulf.

Iran's defense minister has threatened that Tehran would target U.S. bases regionally if attacked.

Overnight, U.S. stocks gave back early gains to end lower as trade uncertainty and rising geopolitical tensions offset a better-than-expected inflation report.

Data showed the consumer price index increased 0.1 percent for May, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4 percent.

Core inflation has come out to be lower than expected for the fourth month in a row, raising pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut rates.

On the trade front, President Trump said a trade framework with China has been completed, with Beijing supplying full magnets and "any necessary rare earths" up front and the U.S. allowing Chinese students into its colleges and universities while keeping tariffs unchanged.

"WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%," Trump added. "RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!"

Later, Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping "are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade."

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped half a percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent and the narrower Dow finished marginally lower.

European stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday as early gains evaporated. The pan European STOXX 600 declined 0.3 percent.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up by 0.1 percent while the German DAX dipped 0.2 percent and France's CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent.