Sensex, Nifty Seen Opening Flat On Muted Asian Cues

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening on a flat note Tuesday as investors weigh border tensions against easing global trade concerns.

U.S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that 17 trading partners, excluding China, have presented very good trade proposals and some deals may be announced as early as this week, echoing comments from U.S. President Donald Trump a day earlier.

He also said that there could be substantial progress on trade with China in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, a Bloomberg report said, citing sources familiar with the talks that India has offered to impose zero tariffs on selected American goods as part of a larger effort to ink a bilateral trade deal with Washington before autumn.

As tensions between India and Pakistan surge, rating agency Moody's said it doesn't expect major disruptions in economic activity because it has minimal economic relations with Pakistan.

However, higher defence spending would potentially weigh on India's fiscal strength and slow its fiscal consolidation.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around half a percent each on Monday while the rupee gained 27 paise to close at 84.30 against the dollar amid falling oil prices and sustained foreign fund inflows.

Asian stocks were muted this morning, with South Korean and Japanese markets closed for public holidays.

U.S. stock futures drifted lower and the dollar gained after a two-day decline as a two-day policy meeting of the Federal Reserve gets underway later today.

An unprecedented two-day surge in the Taiwanese dollar spilled over to other regional peers and highlighted the fragility of the U.S. currency.

Gold traded up more than 1 percent to hit a one-week high after Trump announced a 100 percent tariff on movies produced overseas, reigniting concerns about the potential fallout of a global trade war.

Oil prices jumped more than 1 percent, snapping a two-day decline as rising tensions in the Middle East offset concerns about a potential supply glut.

Six airstrikes hit Yemen's Hodeidah port, a day after the Iran-aligned Houthis fired a missile that landed near Israel's main airport in Tel Aviv. In a major escalation, a missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels toward Israel struck near Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

U.S. stocks saw considerable volatility before ending lower overnight as business leaders flagged growing anxiety over new U.S. tariffs.

Markets, however, ended off their day's lows as data showed stronger-than-expected service sector activity in April and the Bloomberg reported that India has proposed zero tariffs on steel, auto components and pharmaceuticals on a reciprocal basis up to a certain quantity of imports in its trade negotiations with the U.S.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent to snap its nine-day winning streak, the longest in over two decades. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.7 percent and the Dow dipped 0.2 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Monday as focus shifted to earnings and upcoming central bank meetings.

The pan European STOXX 600 edged up by 0.2 percent, marking its 10th consecutive session of gains and the longest winning streak since August 2021.

The German DAX rallied 1.1 percent while France's CAC 40 declined 0.6 percent. U.K. markets were closed for a bank holiday.