Indian Shares Seen Flat To Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening flat to slightly higher on Monday, tracking mixed cues from global markets.

Investors will closely track crude oil price movements ahead of the announcement of fresh U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Volatility may prevail ahead of the expiry of derivative contracts scheduled for Tuesday.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell around half a percent each last week on concerns over elevated oil prices as the 60-day U.S.-Iran agreement expired without a lasting agreement and U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. naval blockade would remain in place until Iran is ready to make a deal.

Asian stocks were broadly lower this morning, with tech shares suffering heavy losses ahead of Nvidia's quarterly earnings results due this week. It is believed Nvidia's guidance could fuel or break this year's AI rally.

The dollar teetered near multi-month lows while gold edged up 0.7 percent to $4,634 an ounce after rising over 5 percent to a three-month high last week.

Amid high crude oil prices and bond market volatility, investors await the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge as well as Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium this week for additional clues on the rate outlook.

Brent crude futures fell nearly 2 percent to $92.65 a barrel ahead of a press conference by U.S. Treasury Secretary, where he is likely to announce tougher sanctions to economically isolate Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the renewed threats of economic sanctions reflected desperation after what he described as the failure of previous measures.

He described the attempt as a recurring tactic, adding Washington has no choice but to engage with the Iranian people respectfully.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday but ended the week lower amid jitters over fluctuating government bond yields and renewed Middle East tensions, with the Trump administration announcing the most crushing economic operation against Iran and its trading partners.

The Dow rallied 1 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both gained 0.4 percent after data showed U.S. business activity grew at its fastest pace in more than four years in August, driven by stronger demand in the service sector.

European stocks advanced on Friday after data showed Eurozone business activity grew at its fastest pace this year in August, driven by stronger growth in the manufacturing sector.

The pan-European STOXX 600 surged 0.6 percent. While the German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both rose by 0.6 percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.4 percent.