Indian shares set to join global rally on Gulf peace deal, oil slides

Indian shares are set to open higher on Monday, tracking a global rally, while oil prices tumbled after US President Donald Trump and Iran’s deputy foreign minister said an initial deal had been ​reached to end the war and resume traffic through the Strait of ‌Hormuz. The countries will sign a memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday, said Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country served as a mediator in the negotiations. GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 23, 983. 5 as ​of 7: 38 a. m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 would open ​about 1. 5% above Friday’s close of 23, 622. 90. The Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex ⁠rose about 2% and 2. 3% on Friday as optimism of a diplomatic breakthrough in ​the four-month long U. S. -Iran war boosted risk appetite. Other Asian markets jumped 2. 4%, while Brent crude dropped 4. 1% ​to $84 a barrel, the lowest since March. Lower oil prices are a positive for India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, as they help ease pressure on inflation, the rupee and the country’s trade ​deficit. “The diplomatic resolution in the Middle East reduces geopolitical risk, and the resulting crude ​oil price decline is especially beneficial to India, as it eases inflationary pressures and improves the ‌macroeconomic ⁠outlook, ” said Pravesh Gour, senior technical analyst at Swastika Investmart. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded Indian stocks worth 10. 82 billion rupees ($113. 77 million) on Friday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth 53. 41 billion rupees, according to NSE’s provisional data. For the year, FPIs have offloaded a record $30. 7 ​billion, pressured by ​the Iran war and limited ⁠exposure to the global AI-led rally. Analysts said a resolution of the Middle East conflict could help revive foreign outflows. Both the Nifty and ​Sensex have lost 6. 2% and 7. 1% since the start of ​the Iran ⁠war in late February.

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