Sensex, Nifty Set To Extend Losses As Crude Oil Spikes

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open on a sluggish note Friday as oil prices spiked amid signs of an escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, with U.S. President Joe Biden saying the U.S. was discussing whether to support potential Israeli strikes against Iranian oil facilities.

Meanwhile, Israel said it bombed more than a dozen Hezbollah targets in Beirut on Thursday in retaliation to Iran's launching of approximately 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel on Tuesday.

Israeli ground forces pressed their incursion deeper into Lebanon, aiming to push back Hezbollah militants.

Oil prices were little changed in Asian trading after rallying about 5 percent in the overnight U.S. trading session.

Both Brent and WTI crude contracts remain on track for weekly gains of around 8 percent as traders priced in the likelihood of supply disruptions in the Middle East, which accounts for about a third of global supply.

Investors may also react to an announcement by the Bombay Stock Exchange that it will discontinue weekly derivative contracts on both Sensex 50 and Bankex from November 2024 in compliance with SEBI's new regulation.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell over 2 percent each on Thursday and the rupee ended down 14 paise at 83.96 against the dollar on rising Middle East tensions.

Asian markets fluctuated this morning as investors looked ahead to the release of all-important U.S. jobs report on Friday for additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory.

Gold held largely steady while the dollar was poised for its largest weekly gain since April due to safe-haven demand.

U.S. stocks finished slightly lower overnight as the payrolls report loomed and concerns mounted over a widening regional conflict in the Middle East.

In economic news, weekly jobless claims saw a modest increase last week while U.S. service sector activity accelerated to a 1-1/2-year high in September amid strong growth in new orders, separate set of data revealed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower, the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent and the Dow dipped 0.4 percent.

European stocks ended lower on Thursday as a survey showed the euro area private sector shrank for the first time in seven months in September.

The pan European STOXX 600 gave up 0.9 percent. The German DAX dropped 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 tumbled 1.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 percent.