Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty are likely to open lower on Friday, with GIFT Nifty pointing to a weak start with a fall of more than 100 points, as a fresh surge in crude oil prices, rising US Treasury yields and losses across Asian and US equities weigh on markets. Brent crude approached $110 a barrel after attacks along key Middle East shipping routes intensified, while hotter US wholesale inflation strengthened expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike next week.
GIFT Nifty was trading around 23,343 at 8 am, down 117 points, or 0.5 percent. Indian equities had snapped a three-session losing streak on Thursday, although gains remained modest in rangebound trade. The Sensex rose 138.36 points, or 0.19 percent, to 74,902.59, while the Nifty gained 46.30 points, or 0.20 percent, to 23,477.80.
The external backdrop has deteriorated sharply since then: crude oil benchmarks surged further, while US equities fell and Asian markets followed Wall Street lower.
Asian stocks and bonds fell on Friday as investors grappled with soaring energy prices and the prospect of tighter US monetary policy. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.3 percent, led by losses in Japan and South Korea. Japan's Topix fell 1 percent, while Nikkei 225 futures declined 2.7 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng each lost 0.9 percent, while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.6 percent.
US equity futures showed some signs of stabilisation after Thursday's selloff, with S&P 500 futures gaining 0.2 percent in Asian trade.