India stock benchmarks set for muted open; crude-driven volatility to remain high

India’s equity benchmarks are expected to open little changed on Tuesday, though volatility is likely to stay elevated as investors ​remain wary of the impact of higher-for-longer Brent crude ‌prices amid the prolonged Middle East war. GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 23,450 as of 07:21 a.m. IST, indicating the Nifty 50 will open near ​Monday’s close of 23,408.8. Brent crude hovered around $103 a barrel on ​supply concerns , with the Strait of Hormuz mostly shut ⁠and US allies refusing to send warships to help tankers ​navigate the key chokepoint that handles about 20% of global oil ​supplies. Brokerages Citi and Nomura lowered their year-end Nifty targets on Monday, citing the impact of the surge in crude prices on India’s growth and corporate earnings. The Nifty ​and Sensex have fallen about 7% each so far this ​month, as investors assessed the fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran. Foreign investors ‌sold ⁠shares worth 93.66 billion rupees ($1.01 billion) on Monday, provisional data showed, in their twelfth straight session of selling. Outflows this month have reached $6.9 billion.