Indian Stocks Face Fresh Hurdle as Fuel Price-Hike Risk Looms

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I’m Alex Gabriel Simon, bringing you the latest on markets.

Equity traders in India are bracing for a cautious start after a choppy session Monday, amid rising bets that the nation will soon see its first significant increase in diesel prices in years, due to the oil crisis unleashed by the Iran war. Such a hike would add to inflationary pressures (read more below) already weighing on the economy — the world’s third-largest oil importer — and cloud the outlook for corporate earnings. Local stocks, though, may find support from early gains in Asian equities and a decline in oil prices, amid signs that Iran will attend peace negotiations with the US in Islamabad before a ceasefire between the sides ends. Meanwhile, the rupee will be in focus after the central bank eased some restrictions on lenders’ foreign-exchange transactions, signaling a partial rollback of some of its aggressive steps to defend the currency.

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