Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday. The crude prices surging to more than 6-week highs above $101 is adding pressure to Indian equities amid continuing Middle East tension. The US 10-year yields spiked once again despite the buyback plans. This added to the negative sentiment further.

The GIFT Nifty is down 25 points, or 0.11%, at 23,465 in early trade, signalling a muted start for Indian equities..

Indian benchmark indices ended sharply lower on Thursday, with the Sensex dropping 813.35 points, or 1.08%, to close at 74,764.23, while the Nifty 50 declined 203.60 points, or 0.86%, to 23,431.50.

Here are the key global and domestic cues to watch today

Asian markets were mostly lower in early trade, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.62%, South Korea’s Kospi declining 0.24% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipping 1.36%.

Middle East tension kept oil prices under pressure in the early trade today, with traders watching for any impact on supply. Brent crude futures rose 0.62% to $101.84 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 1.01% to $96.06 a barrel.

US stocks extended their decline for a third straight session on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 405.41 points, or 0.77%, to 52,380.66, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.48% to 7,636.36. The Nasdaq Composite also slipped 0.64% to 26,253.34.

US stock futures were mixed ahead of Thursday’s trading session. Dow-linked futures gained 54 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures edged up 0.04%. Nasdaq-100 futures, meanwhile, were slightly lower.

The 10-year US Treasury yield moved up to 4.857% on Wednesday despite the US Treasury announcing a large buyback programme for longer-dated government debt. The department plans to triple the operation to $6 billion.

However, the yields continued to harden on expectations of even larger buyback going ahead

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of six foreign currencies, was trading at 98.78. The index evaluates the strength or weakness of the US dollar in comparison to major currencies.

The basket contains currencies such as the British Pound, Euro, Swedish Krona, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, etc. The Indian rupee ended at Rs 95.10 against the US dollar on September 9.

In the latest trading session, COMEX gold fell 0.15% to 4,454.

The rate for 24-carat gold today is Rs 1,54,300 per 10 grams. The 24 kt gold rate today in Delhi is Rs 1,54,500 per 10 grams. The 18-carat gold price today in India is Rs 1,15,720. The 24-carat gold rate in Dubai today is Rs 1,54,010.

In the latest trading session, COMEX silver down 0.77% to 68.11.

Silver prices in India stood at Rs 249.90 per gram, while the price was Rs 2,49,900 per kilogram.

On September 9, foreign investors sold Indian equities worth Rs 583 crore, while domestic institutional investors remained buyers, putting Rs 1,509 crore into the market, NSE data showed.

In the last trading session, Infrastructure stocks led the sectoral gains, rising 3.1% in the last trading session, followed by mining stocks, which gained 1.91%. Non-ferrous metal stocks also moved higher, advancing 1.33%.

The Anil Ambani Group rose 3% in the last trading session, while the Adani Group gained 2.83% and the Raunaq Group advanced 2.58%. On the other hand, the HCL Group fell 4.54%, followed by the Indiabulls Group, which declined 3.1%. The Muthoot Group also slipped 2.64%.