The Sensex climbed over 700 points to trade above 79,200, while the Nifty gained more than 150 points to cross 24,550 as of 11:07 am. Meanwhile, India VIX eased over 3% to 18.19, indicating a drop in market volatility.
Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, L&T, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel shares gained around 1% each to lead gains on Sensex. Bucking the trend, IT stocks including Infosys, TechM and others declined up to 1% to lead losses on the benchmark index.
Broader markets remained in the green, with Nifty Midcap index gaining around 0.5% and Nifty Smallcap 100 index rising 0.7%. Sectorally, realty stocks led gains, with Nifty Realty jumping more than 1%. Nifty IT was the only sectoral index on NSE to trade in the red with marginal losses. Around 1,983 stocks advanced on NSE, while 464 declined and 96 remained unchanged.
What lies ahead?
In the near-term the market will continue to be news-driven, oscillating between hope and fear, according to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. “Reports of second round of talks between US and Iran are keeping hopes of resolution to the conflict alive. Brent crude at $95 and declining spot prices of crude reflect market confidence that the conflict may not last long. But if it does, crude price will again spike impacting stock markets,” he said.
“A prolonged war means slower growth and higher inflation for long. Such a scenario will push the market down. In brief, uncertainty looms large. During such periods of uncertainty, the only thing investors can do is to remain calm and exercise utmost discipline in investing. Fairly-valued fundamentally sound stocks will be available at reasonable prices during this period of uncertainty and fear. Such stocks can be accumulated in a calibrated manner for the long-term,” he added.Oil prices hold near $95/barrel
Oil prices cooled down slightly, with Brent crude futures hovering near $95 per barrel and WTI Crude futures declining to $87 per barrel. Oil prices continue to comfortably sustain below the crucial $100 per barrel mark, which it had crossed for the first time in March since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The decline in oil prices comes amid rising expectations of Iran-US peace deal and the subsequent possibility of complete resumption of trade through the Strait of Hormuz, which is a critical chokepoint for the global oil and either trade.
Meanwhile, Kuwait declared force majeure on oil shipments due to the strait’s blockade, Bloomberg News reported. This will keep investors on edge today.
Iran-US war peace talks hopes
Investors continue to expect the war between Iran and US to end soon. Officials from the two countries are likely to meet this week to hold the second round of negotiations, after the previous round failed to culminate in a long-lasting peace deal earlier this month.
Yet, some caution is warranted. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said “continued violations of the ceasefire” by the US is a hindrance to further negotiations. Iran’s top negotiator and Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf reiterated that Tehran would not negotiate under threats.
US President Donald Trump meanwhile took to Truth Social to criticise the previous US leaders for brokering what he claimed to be a terrible deal with Iran. “If a deal happens under ‘TRUMP’, it will guarantee peace, security, and safety, not only for Israel and the Middle East, but for Europe, America, and everywhere else. It will be something that the entire world will be proud of, instead of the years of embarrassment and humiliation that we have been forced to suffer due to incompetent and cowardly leadership!” the President added.
Rupee declines
Indian rupee declined 20 paise to 93.36 against US dollar in early trade. According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, oil prices surged but stayed below the $100 mark, while the rupee weakened, raising concerns about inflationary pressures.
FII turn net sellers
After net purchasing Indian equities for three consecutive sessions, foreign investors turned net sellers on Dalal Street again on Monday. FII net sold Indian equities worth nearly Rs 1,060 crore on Monday, wiping off a significant chunk of the Rs 1,731 crore they net bought on Dalal Street in three consecutive sessions last week.
FIIs have remained net buyers for only four out of the last 33 sessions.
Global markets
Asian markets broadly remained in the green, with Japan’s Nikkei gaining over 1% and South Korea’s Kospi rallying over 2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.35% while China’s Shanghai Composite slipped into the red, falling 0.24%.
Wall Street ended the previous session in the red, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq declining 0.26% after hitting new record highs. Dow Jones futures are however in the green today.
(With inputs from agencies)
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)