Indian shares eye muted start as oil climbs on intensifying Mideast tensions

Business Recorder reported that Indian equities were expected to begin Wednesday with minimal movement, as investor mood remained muted following renewed Middle East hostilities. Brent crude futures rose 1.5% to $99.5 a barrel, edging toward the $100 level.

The conflict widened on Tuesday, with Houthi forces in Yemen striking several Saudi cities, while US forces targeted multiple Iranian oil tankers and Iran hit a US base in Jordan. Higher crude prices could widen India's trade deficit, lift inflation and weigh on growth, since the country relies on imports for the bulk of its energy.

The Nifty 50 ended Tuesday at 23,635.1, and GIFT Nifty futures pointed to a muted open at 23,652.5 as of 7:46 a.m. IST. The Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex have each dropped 2.2% across the last seven sessions, falling in six of them and reaching their lowest closes since June 12 on Tuesday. Overseas investors pulled out 1.23 billion rupees ($12.97 million) of stock on Tuesday, per provisional data, taking September outflows to $1.33 billion, while global investors await US inflation data due later this week.