July 8 (Reuters) – Indian shares were set to open lower on Wednesday, as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions hit global risk appetite and lifted crude oil prices, a key risk for the world’s third-largest oil importer.
GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 24,235 as of 8:00 a.m. IST, signalling that the Nifty 50 (.NSEI), opens new tab could open below Tuesday’s close of 24,398.7.
Asian markets fell after an overnight drop on Wall Street, while Brent crude rose 2% to about $76 a barrel, extending a 3% gain from the previous session, after the U.S. military launched a series of strikes against Iran.
Washington said Tehran had attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil shipments.
The flare-up raised fresh concerns about regional stability and possible supply disruption.
Higher oil prices are a headwind for oil-importing countries such as India because they can lift the import bill, fuel inflation, slow growth and squeeze company margins.
The Nifty 50 and the Sensex (.BSESN), opens new tab snapped a four-session winning streak on Tuesday, as investors booked profits after a rally driven by optimism over lower crude prices following a preliminary U.S.-Iran peace deal.
The latest flare-up could dent investor sentiment further, trigger a risk-off move and prompt additional profit-taking, two analysts said.
Technology stocks will also be in focus after a Reuters report said Chinese AI startup DeepSeek was developing its own chip, potentially reducing reliance on major global chipmakers.
The Nifty IT index (.NIFTYIT), opens new tab, up 6.2% so far in July, will be watched ahead of Tata Consultancy Services’ quarterly results on Thursday.
Foreign institutional investors bought Indian shares worth 3.93 billion rupees ($41.4 million) on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth 3.83 billion rupees.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Embassy Developments (EMBS.NS), opens new tab says June-quarter pre-sales surge more than four-fold year-on-year to 8.68 billion rupees, while collections rise 54% to 4.96 billion rupees
** Uno Minda (UNOI.NS), opens new tab approves a 3.20 billion-rupee greenfield facility for four-wheeler seating systems, marking its entry into the passenger vehicle seating segment
** HCLTech (HCLT.NS), opens new tab says its unit completes the acquisition of Jaspersoft and integrates it with the Actian portfolio
** Orchid Pharma (ORCD.NS), opens new tab signs a licensing agreement with Pharmasyntez to commercialise antibiotic Exblifep in Russia
($1 = 94.9600 Indian rupees)
(This story has been refiled to add the dropped letter ‘r’ in ‘countries’ in paragraph 6)
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
