Indian Shares Seen Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may follow global peers higher on Wednesday as oil prices steadied and the petroleum ministry said there is no fuel shortage in the country.

That said, traders may book profits at higher levels following two consecutive sessions of gains.

Geopolitical and inflation risks persist, with the U.S. military reportedly targeting Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz and Iran confirming the death of its national security chief Ali Larijani.

"Hours ago, U.S forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran's coastline near the Strait of Hormuz," the U.S. military said on X.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty jumped around 0.7 percent each on Tuesday, adding to sharp gains in the previous session after the government reiterated that India's crude supply is secure despite the West Asia crisis and disruption through the Strait of Hormuz.

The rupee settled 6 paise higher at 92.37 against the greenback, as dollar sales from state-run banks on behalf of RBI offset pressure from rising crude oil prices in international markets and continued foreign fund outflows.

Foreign investors offloaded shares worth Rs 4,741.22 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs 5,225.32 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian stocks were mostly higher this morning as investors looked past short-term geopolitical uncertainty to focus on upcoming central bank meetings, with the U.S. Federal Reserve scheduled to announce its interest-rate decision later in the day.

Due to heightened concerns about the inflation outlook, the Fed is widely expected to keep its policy rate unchanged.

Brent crude prices traded down nearly 1 percent below $103 a barrel, gold prices were subdued below $5,000 an ounce and the dollar was little changed, while U.S. Treasury bonds held steady, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year at 4.20 percent.

U.S. stocks eked out modest gains overnight, extending gains from the previous session as oil resumed its upward move and President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the U.S. has decimated Iran's Military and that America does not require support from its allies to protect shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

A key UAE oil loading port, Fujairah, suspended operations again and Israel claimed to have killed Iran security chief Ali Larijani, marking the latest escalation in the Iran war.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up by half a percent while the S&P 500 and the Dow added 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

European stocks rose for a second day on Tuesday as energy stocks benefited from rising oil prices amid fears over constrained supply.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 advanced 0.7 percent. The German DAX climbed 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 gained half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 0.8 percent.