The US has rejected Iran’s response to the proposed peace formula, reigniting fears of a fresh conflict in West Asia. President Donald Trump indicated that Washington was dissatisfied with Tehran’s reply, fuelling speculation that the US could intensify military action against Iran.
Following the development, crude oil prices surged above $105 a barrel, the dollar strengthened, US futures slipped and Asian markets turned volatile after initially touching record highs. Global markets are once again gripped by war-related anxiety.
With no immediate signs of lower crude prices or improved supply, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indians to reduce fuel consumption. The government may consider measures such as fuel price hikes or usage restrictions, both of which could weigh on industrial growth.
Trump is scheduled to visit China on Thursday and Friday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Markets are hoping that tensions in West Asia will not escalate further ahead of the high-level discussions.
In derivatives trading at GIFT City, Gift Nifty closed at 24,218 on Friday night. It dropped to 24,045 early Monday before recovering slightly, signalling a sharply negative opening for Indian equities.
US markets closed higher on Friday amid hopes that an Iran-US understanding was still possible. The Dow Jones posted only marginal gains, while the S&P 500 crossed the 7,400 mark to hit a fresh record before ending slightly lower. The Nasdaq touched a record 26,248.62 before easing marginally.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have now risen for six consecutive weeks, their longest winning streak since 2024. Last week, the Nasdaq gained 4.5 percent while the S&P 500 advanced 2.3 percent.
The Dow Jones rose 12.19 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 49,609.16. The S&P 500 gained 61.82 points, or 0.84 percent, to end at 7,398.93, while the Nasdaq jumped 440.88 points, or 1.71 percent, to settle at 26,247.08.
US futures were trading lower early Monday. Dow futures fell 127 points, or 0.26 percent, S&P futures lost 11 points, or 0.15 percent, and Nasdaq futures declined 30 points, or 0.10 percent.
In New York trading on Friday, the ADR of HDFC Bank fell 2.53 percent during regular trading but recovered about two percent in after-hours trade to $25.52.
ICICI Bank ADR slipped 0.93 percent before ending unchanged in after-hours trading at $26.49.
Infosys ADR rose 2.07 percent and gained a further 0.08 percent in after-hours trade to close at $12.84.
Wipro declined 1.52 percent during regular hours before rebounding 1.54 percent in after-hours trading to $1.98.
European markets fell more than one percent on Friday after the lack of progress in West Asia peace efforts and Trump’s renewed threat of imposing steep tariffs on Europe.
Asian markets traded mixed on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi each climbed about one percent to record highs before retreating. Australia’s benchmark index lost around one percent. Hong Kong markets opened lower, while Shanghai edged higher.
China’s April retail and wholesale inflation figures came in above market expectations.
Uncertainty surrounding the West Asia peace initiative dragged Indian equities lower on Friday. Benchmark indices closed with losses of more than 0.60 percent, though the broader market showed resilience. The Smallcap 100 index gained 0.22 percent.
Public sector banks, private banks, financials and metal stocks were among the biggest losers, while IT and consumer durables outperformed.
Foreign institutional investors continued selling. FIIs were net sellers of shares worth ₹4,110.60 crore in the cash market, while domestic institutions bought shares worth ₹6,748.13 crore.
Foreign investors pulled out ₹14,207.20 crore from Indian equities last week alone. So far in 2026, they have withdrawn ₹2.18-lakh-crore from Indian markets, exceeding their total sales during the previous two years combined.
The Sensex fell 516.33 points, or 0.66 percent, to close at 77,328.19. The Nifty 50 declined 150.50 points, or 0.62 percent, to 24,176.15. Bank Nifty dropped 736.85 points, or 1.31 percent, to 55,310.55.
The Midcap 100 index slipped 0.15 percent, while the Smallcap 100 index gained 0.22 percent.
Market breadth remained weak. On the BSE, 2,020 stocks advanced while 2,217 declined. On the NSE, 1,499 shares gained and 1,782 fell.
Hyundai Motor India reported a weak fourth quarter. Vehicle sales volume rose nine percent, but revenue growth was limited to five percent. Operating profit and net profit declined 22 percent each, while profit margin dropped from 14.1 percent to 10.4 percent.
State Bank of India reported lower-than-expected profit growth in the fourth quarter. Operating profit declined 11.4 percent, while net profit rose 5.6 percent.
Net interest income grew 4.1 percent, but non-interest income fell 28.9 percent. The bank expects loan growth of 13-15 percent in the new financial year.
Gross non-performing assets improved from 1.82 percent to 1.49 percent, while net NPAs declined from 0.47 percent to 0.39 percent.
Titan Company increased fourth-quarter revenue by 46 percent and net profit by 35 percent. Jewellery sales surged 50 percent, while watch sales rose eight percent.
Biocon reported a 568 percent drop in net profit due to an additional expense of ₹80.4 crore in the fourth quarter. Revenue increased 13 percent. The company’s generics business declined 17 percent, while biosimilars jumped 16 percent.
Tata Consumer Products posted 18 percent revenue growth and 22 percent growth in net profit during the fourth quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
Swiggy reduced its fourth-quarter losses. Revenue jumped 447 percent. Operating loss narrowed from ₹962 crore to ₹697 crore, while net loss reduced from ₹1,081 crore to ₹800 crore.
Urban Company reported 42.6 percent growth in fourth-quarter revenue but swung from a marginal profit to a loss of ₹161.2 crore.
Bank of India posted an 11 percent increase in net interest income and a 14.9 percent rise in net profit.
Gold prices continued to fluctuate in line with developments in West Asia. After closing at $4,715.70 an ounce on Friday, gold fell to $4,671 early Monday before recovering to around $4,706.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold prices fell by ₹240 per sovereign on Friday to ₹1,11,960. Prices dropped another ₹240 on Saturday to ₹1,11,720.
Silver closed at $80.47 an ounce on Friday and edged up to $80.79 on Monday morning.
Platinum traded at $2,031, palladium at $1,454 and rhodium at $9,500.
Industrial metals traded mixed on Friday. Copper rose 0.89 percent to $13,444.75 a tonne, while aluminium gained 0.27 percent to $3,506.55. Nickel advanced, but zinc, lead and tin declined.
In the Bangkok market, RSS-3 rubber rose $6 to $304.50 per quintal. RSS-1 stood at $308.10. Synthetic rubber fell 1.84 percent to 16,041.67 yuan per tonne.
Coffee gained 0.57 percent to 274.80 cents per pound. Palm oil remained steady at 4,541 Malaysian ringgit per tonne.
International cocoa prices, which had rallied sharply in recent sessions, fell 5.53 percent on Friday to $4,182 a tonne.
Ghana is preparing a $1 billion cocoa storage project. Concerns remain over drought conditions during the harvest season in Ivory Coast and Ghana, which could hurt both supply and quality. Rising fertiliser costs and the impact of El Niño are also expected to reduce yields in the coming months.
Agencies have begun revising surplus stock forecasts for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. Cocoa hit a record high of $12,906 per tonne in December 2024.
The US dollar index closed at 97.90 on Friday and strengthened to 98.05 on Monday morning.
The euro rose to $1.1769 and the pound strengthened to $1.3597. The Japanese yen weakened to 156.98 against the dollar, while the Chinese yuan traded at 6.80 per dollar.
US 10-year Treasury yields, after falling on Friday, rose to 4.39 percent on Monday morning.
Higher crude oil prices weakened the rupee on Friday. The dollar gained 23 paise to close at ₹94.48. The rupee may remain under pressure on Monday.
In the offshore non-deliverable forward market, the dollar traded at ₹94.56 early Monday. The Chinese yuan rose to ₹13.89, while the euro climbed to ₹111.44.
Crude oil prices climbed sharply on Monday after both sides rejected the proposed peace formula.
Brent crude, which had closed at $101.29 a barrel on Friday, jumped four percent to $105.26 on Monday morning. WTI crude traded at $99.37, while UAE Murban crude stood at $98.82.
War fears pushed cryptocurrencies lower on Monday morning. Bitcoin slipped below $81,300, while Ether traded below $2,350 and Solana remained below $95.5.
add the market indicators in the end
(May 08, Friday)
Sensex: 77,328.19 (-0.66%)
Nifty 50: 24,176.15 (-0.62%)
Bank Nifty: 55,310.55 (-1.31%)
Midcap 100: 61,910.90 (-0.15%)
Smallcap 100: 18,737.00 (+0.22%)
Dow Jones: 49,609.16 (+0.02%)
S&P 500: 7,398.93 (+0.84%)
Nasdaq: 26,247.08 (+1.71%)
Dollar: ₹94.48 (+₹0.23)
Gold (ounce): $4,615.70 (+$28.10)
Gold (sovereign): ₹1,11,960 (-₹240)
Saturday: ₹1,11,720 (-₹240)
Brent crude: $101.29 (+$1.23)