Indian shares seen opening marginally higher
India's benchmark indexes were seen opening marginally higher on Tuesday after four sessions of losses, although analysts cautioned that sentiment remained weak due to global uncertainties.
The GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 23,482 as of 08:10 a.m. IST, indicating that blue-chip Nifty 50 will open above its Monday's close of 23,381.60.
Both Nifty and BSE Sensex have lost 1.5% over the previous four sessions, as U.S. tariff uncertainties and foreign outflows weighed.
Foreign portfolio investors have offloaded Indian shares worth $9.94 billion in 2025 so far.
The Indian rupee weakened to its all-time low on Monday in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats, which strengthened the dollar.
Following up on his warnings, Trump raised tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to a flat 25% "without exceptions or exemptions," escalating the risk of a trade war.
The U.S. President also said he would announce plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on several countries in the next two days.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing additional tariff cuts ahead of a meeting with Trump this week, to avoid a potential trade war.
"Given the domestic market's weak structure and lackluster sentiment, investors could continue to sell on the rise," said Dhupesh Dhameja, analyst at SAMCO Securities.
"Intraday recoveries over the last four sessions have not been sustained, reflecting waning investor confidence influenced by global market uncertainties," Dhameja said.
Asian shares were mixed in early trade, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan inching 0.2% higher. [MKTS/GLOB]
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Eicher Motors misses profit and margin estimates for the third quarter, hurt by high costs and lower sales of high-margin motorcycles.
** Grasim Industries posts higher-than-expected losses for the December quarter on high capital expenditure for paints business, cement maker also appoints Himanshu Kapania as managing director effective April 1, following Harikrishna Agarwal's request for early retirement.
** Retailer Nykaa reports quarterly profit rise due to surging demand for premium beauty products.
** Apollo Hospitals posts higher-than-expected third-quarter profit on increased occupancy and demand for speciality care.
