Tankers Are Going Dark for Longer to Get Oil Out of Middle East
Supertankers are going dark for longer to get oil through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb strait, doubling down on tactics honed in the earlier days of the Iran war.
Indian shares were set to open the trading day on a modest note on Thursday, with easing concerns over a potential U.S. rate increase tempered by stalled Middle East peace talks. Investors would be closely watching stock-specific movements following the announcement of MSCI's index rebalancing and amid the ongoing quarterly earnings season.
GIFT Nifty futures stood at 24,446 points by 7:18 a.m. IST, signaling a lackluster start for the Nifty 50, which had ended at 24,435.95 on the previous day. U.S. consumer prices only saw a slight uptick in July, diminishing the chances of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike the following month after weaker-than-expected jobs data were released last week.
MSCI's Asia-Pacific index, which comprises shares outside Japan, surged 1%, driven by a 4.4% rise in South Korean stocks following the inflation data. Lower interest rates in the U.S. can lead to a decrease in Treasury yields and the dollar, making emerging market equities like India more appealing to foreign investors. India's retail inflation data, released after the market closed on Wednesday, revealed a 4.45% rise in consumer prices in July, but it was unlikely to prompt the central bank to raise interest rates in the coming months.
Oil prices dipped by 1% on Thursday as forecasters revised downward global oil demand projections for 2026 due to the disruptions from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Despite this, the supply constraints caused by the conflict provided a foundation for the market. Iran and the U.S. were still at odds over efforts to reach a lasting resolution to the Gulf war, according to a senior Iranian source cited by Reuters.
They reported that there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal signed in June. "Although Brent crude has eased modestly to below $89 per barrel, the unresolved situation in the Strait of Hormuz continues to keep the geopolitical risk premium in energy markets elevated," said Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, founder and CEO of HST Wealth.
Additionally, MSCI plans to include Laurus Labs, Lenskart, Adani Energy Solutions, and Groww in its flagship index as part of a routine review.
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