Indian Shares Seen Opening On Cautious Note

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening a tad lower on Monday as investors weigh persisting geopolitical tensions and changing expectations on U.S. monetary policy.

Bent crude futures rose toward $97 a barrel, extending last week's gains on concerns over prolonged supply disruptions after U.S.-Iran attacks pushed Hormuz traffic to its lowest since May.

The U.S. military targeted three Iranian oil tankers over the weekend after ballistic missiles were launched towards two of its warships patrolling regional waters.

In retaliation, Iran said that its forces attacked a U.S. naval drone trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz.

Hours earlier, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships not to attempt to transit on approved routes after targeting "three oil tankers on the unauthorized route of the Strait of Hormuz and three vessels affiliated with the child-killing America in other areas."

Iran's top security official has announced that a new restricted zone would be established outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days, adding to uncertainty around the future of energy shipments through the strategic waterway.

According to the Press TV, the proposed area would begin at the U.S. Navy blockade line and extend into parts of the Persian Gulf.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright cautioned that the Trump administration may never reach a deal intended to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and that Iran's capabilities could instead be destroyed.

Meanwhile, as U.S. rate-hike woes mount, investors await key U.S. inflation data, including the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) this week for direction, heading into the September FOMC meeting.

Asian markets were broadly higher this morning as tech and chip stocks followed their U.S. peers higher and China's central bank injected 500 million yuan via 7-day reverse repos, signaling ample liquidity and a steady monetary policy stance.

The dollar edged lower in early Asian trade while gold was subdued at 4,404 an ounce after a tumultuous week.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday while the dollar and Treasury yields rose as the release of much stronger-than-expected jobs data boosted the odds of a September rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Data showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 21,000 jobs in July.

Economists had forecast an increase of 55,000 jobs compared to the loss of 23,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent.

The Dow dropped half a percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 eased 0.4 percent.

European stocks ended little changed on Friday but logged weekly losses on inflation and interest-rate concerns fueled by escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The pan-European STOXX 600 edged up 0.1 percent. The German DAX rose 0.2 percent, while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both finished marginally lower.