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India and Iran have "surveyed" the possibilities of settling trade transactions in rupee or through barter system, along with discussing a need to establish a banking mechanism, foreign minister of the Middle Eastern country, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said on Thursday.

New Delhi and Tehran have also agreed to "precipitate" investment in the Chabahar Port which is being developed with the help of India, the visiting minister said.

"Yesterday, we discussed with Indian high officials as a special need with my colleague the external (affairs) minister on the need to establish a banking mechanism," Abdollahian said at an event organised by the World Trade Centre here.

The two sides "surveyed" the possibility of trade in local currency, including rupee, or otherwise barter, he added.

He said there are existing mechanisms within the framework of international law which can help in reviving the "banking and financial interaction", pointing out that Tehran has implemented such a mechanism with a dozen countries already.

Abdollahian, who is on a three-day visit to India, addressed industry representatives in the financial capital. His arrival was delayed due to another round of meeting with Indian Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar on Thursday morning, as per organisers.

"As we speak, we've in mind recognised legal mechanisms that can be conducive for development of trade between india and Iran," the Iranian foreign minister said.

There are "ample opportunities" for India and Iran irrespective of the "unilateral sanctions" imposed by the US, which will not last for long, he added.

Abdollahian, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Wednesday, said New Delhi and Tehran have agreed to "delineate a long term roadmap".

He further said Modi is "way forward" on such thinking about a long-term partnership, and stressed during the meeting that both the countries are already implementing the roadmap even before formalising it.

The foreign minister said there were detailed and forward looking discussions on economic and trade aspects, adding that Indo-Iranian trade was centuries old.

He also said Chabahar Port is a very reliable infrastructure asset and added that it is already functional with help from Indian investment.

"We agreed to precipitate the investment in this port," he said, adding that discussions were also held on energy.

A "special heed" was paid to the capacities in oil, petroleum and gas that exists within Iran, he said.

Iran has kept the domestic trade routes across the country ready and active to help the cause of trade, especially amid the war triggered by Russian invasion of Ukraine, he added.

Indian markets opened over 1% lower tracking a fall in global equities as investors remain concerned about the global economy while awaiting key data on US retail inflation.

At 9.55 am, the benchmark Sensex was down 1.3% or 711 points to 54608 points while the Nifty was 1.24% or 205 points lower at 16274 points.

This comes after the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.94 percent, the S&P 500 lost 2.38 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.75 percent overnight. Among Asian shares, Nikkei was down 1.3%, Hang Seng was trading flat, Topix down 1%, Kospi down 1.3%, Jakarta fell 1.2%, and the Philippines lost 2%.

"Global markets are falling as investors remain concerned about the global economy while awaiting key data about inflation. The combination of slowing growth and rising prices has raised concerns of stagflation where growth stalls but inflation drives up prices. Moreover, the Russia-Ukraine crisis continues to impact market sentiments," said Mitul Shah, head of research at Reliance Securities.

Here is a detailed look at the factors sending Indian markets lower:

India data: Investors will wait for April factory output data today and consumer price index data for May on Monday. A Bloomberg poll expects factory output for April to rise 5% year on year from 1.9% a month ago and CPI to grow 7.1% for May versus 7.79% in April.

US CPI data: Investors are waiting for US CPI inflation data for May today.   They expect the US Federal Reserve to hike rates by 50 basis points next week, especially if data confirms an elevated inflation reading.

ECB meeting: The European Central Bank on Thursday confirmed its intention to hike interest rates for the first time since 2011 and downgraded its growth forecasts. ECB aims to raise key interest rate by 25 basis points at the July meeting and targets a further hike in the September meeting, saying the scale of that increment would depend on the evolving trajectory of the medium-term inflation outlook. It has also ended its bond buying stimulus.

Crude oil: Currently trading over $120 bbl fuelled by intensifying geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and tightening by global central banks. As oil boils, India's current account deficit is likely to hit a three-year high of 1.8% or $43.81 billion in FY22, as against a surplus of 0.9% or $23.91 billion in FY21, according to India Ratings.

RBI policy: Reserve Bank of India signalled more rate hikes to come in its inflation fight. On Wednesday, RBI raised the key interest rate for a second straight month and pledged to withdraw the pandemic-era accommodation as it steps up its fight to tame prices that have been running above its target band since the beginning of the year. In the latest move, the rate setting panel unanimously raised the repurchase rate by 50 basis points to 4.90%.

Covid cases: Investors were also worried by Covid cases rising in India. The nation registered its highest daily spike in nearly three months with 7,584 new Covid cases as the country witnesses a fresh surge in several parts. Maharashtra, the state most affected, recorded 2,813 cases, the sharpest rise any state saw in 24 hours. This was followed by Kerala, which recorded 2,193 cases