Oil prices at $105 | NBFC, Banks stocks remain in focus on insurance blow | Opening Bell
US markets ended flat-to-negative, with the Nasdaq ending flat while the Dow declined for a third straight session and slipped to a three-month low. The global bond rout deepened, with the US 30-year Treasury yield surging to a 20-year high of 5.5%, while the 10-year yield hit 5.22%, as markets priced in nearly a 75% probability of another Fed rate hike next month. Oil prices hovered near $106 a barrel after a Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia triggered an overnight surge, while US-Iran negotiators discussed a phased de-escalation of the Middle East blockade. The US Dollar Index climbed to a two-month high, breaking above 101, while the rupee is expected to open weak against Thursday’s close of 95.96 per dollar. In India, the Nifty slipped to its lowest closing level in five months and ended below 23,100, with 48 of 50 Nifty stocks closing in the red. The Nifty Bank plunged 1,110 points to 55,439, while financial and insurance stocks together erased ₹1.25 lakh crore in market capitalisation. FIIs were net sellers of ₹5,027.36 crore in equities, while DIIs were net buyers of ₹4,301.18 crore on a provisional basis.