Indian Shares Seen Higher At Open After Thursday's Slump

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to edge higher on Friday after oil prices reversed course before finishing in negative territory in the New York trading session overnight.

Brent crude futures were down nearly 3 percent below $106 a barrel in early Asian trade after seven U.S. allies announced their support for a potential coalition to reopen the strait of Hormuz for commercial ships and oil tankers, and U.S. President Trump asserted that he had no plans to commit ground forces to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran.

However, oil disruption worries persist, with reports suggesting that Iran's latest attack on Qatar has damaged facilities that produce about 17 percent of its liquefied natural gas export capacity.

Iran warned on Thursday that it would carry out more severe retaliatory strikes if the U.S. and Israel attack its energy facilities again.

Explosions were heard today in the Iranian capital Tehran, with air defense systems activated in response, the local news outlet Jamaran reported.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty plunged around 3.3 percent each on Thursday to snap a three-day winning streak on the back of hawkish Fed comments and soaring oil prices following fresh attacks on West Asian gas hubs.

Domestic currency markets were closed on Thursday for Gudi Padwa holiday.

Foreign investors net sold shares worth Rs 7,558 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs 3,864 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were little changed this morning as China's central bank decided to keep its key interest rates unchanged.

Gold edged up to trade at $4,687 an ounce but remains on track for a third weekly drop.

The dollar index hovered near 99 after losing more than 1 percent in the previous session.

U.S. stocks ended modestly lower overnight, trimming earlier losses as an early spike in crude oil prices eased on comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the country had acted alone in hitting the South Pars field, and that U.S. President Trump had asked him to hold off on such attacks in the future.

He also said that Iran has no capacity to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles after 20 days of war, adding his country would help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Economic reports painted a mixed picture, with sales of new U.S. single-family homes falling more than expected in January to the lowest level in nearly 3-1/2 years, while weekly jobless claims signaled a stable labor market.

The World Trade Organization has downgraded its outlook for global trade and economic growth as the Middle East conflict lifts energy risks. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has flagged rising risks to global inflation and economic output.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both fell by 0.3 percent while the Dow dipped 0.4 percent.

European stocks tumbled on Thursday as both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) held policy rates steady and warned of inflation risks. The pan-European Stoxx 600 slumped 2.4 percent following attacks on Iranian and Qatari energy infrastructure.

The German DAX plunged 2.8 percent, France's CAC 40 lost 2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 plummeted 2.4 percent.