Indian shares are expected to open little changed on Tuesday as oil prices extend their surge amid growing doubts over a near-term agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures held steady near $88 a barrel after rising for four consecutive sessions, while U.S. crude surged nearly 5 percent overnight. Iran said a pact with Oman to establish a shipping route through the critical waterway was very close, but rejected direct negotiations with Washington until conditions are met, and U.S. President Donald Trump said he has instructed representatives to include compensation demands from Iran in any future talks. Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher on Monday, with foreign institutional investors net buying shares worth Rs 1,974.76 crore and domestic institutional investors net selling Rs 1,290.29 crore. Investors also await key U.S. inflation readings due this week.
