Donald Trump announced that the planned military strike against Iran had been postponed, triggering a brief decline in crude oil prices. Trump claimed the decision followed requests from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, while Iran had also put forward a fresh peace proposal.
There is also speculation that the delay is linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin beginning a visit to China today. However, the fall in crude prices did not last long.
Gift Nifty closed at 23,674.50 in overnight derivatives trading at GIFT City on Monday. It moved up to 23,732 this morning before slipping to 23,632, indicating that the Nifty may open with modest gains.
Fresh concerns over tensions in West Asia and worries surrounding technology companies pushed US markets in different directions.
Comments by the CEO of Seagate Technology that new data centre projects could face delays dragged down chip stocks including Seagate and Micron Technology. As a result, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended lower, while the Dow Jones advanced.
The Dow Jones rose 159.95 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 49,686.12. The S&P 500 slipped 5.45 points, or 0.07 percent, to 7,403.05, while the Nasdaq fell 134.41 points, or 0.51 percent, to end at 26,090.73.
US futures were trading lower this morning, with Dow futures down 59 points, S&P futures down 11 points and Nasdaq futures down 82 points.
Indian ADRs listed in New York closed mostly higher.
HDFC Bank ADR rose 0.74 percent during regular trading and gained another 0.85 percent in after-hours trade to $24.84.
ICICI Bank ADR recovered from early weakness and closed 1.43 percent higher in after-hours trading at $26.23.
Infosys ADR jumped 4.31 percent before easing 0.79 percent in extended trading to $12.49. Wipro rose 2.65 percent before slipping slightly to $1.9305 in after-hours trade.
European markets closed higher on Monday despite continuing political uncertainty. Budget airline Ryanair rallied sharply after reporting a 40 percent jump in profit despite higher fuel costs.
Asian markets were mostly positive this morning. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.70 percent after the country reported stronger-than-expected GDP growth of 2.1 percent for the January-March quarter.
South Korea’s Kospi opened sharply lower for a second straight session. Australia’s market gained around one percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.60 percent. Shanghai was marginally higher.
Indian equities recovered strongly on Monday after opening sharply lower due to surging crude prices. Brent crude crossing $111 per barrel had initially pushed the market down more than 1.25 percent.
IT, pharma and healthcare stocks gained, while banking, financials, auto, metal, realty, consumer durable, media, oil and tourism stocks declined.
Gold-related stocks continued to weaken, with PNG Jewellers falling five percent.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers for the third consecutive session, purchasing equities worth ₹2,813.69 crore in the cash market. Domestic institutions bought shares worth ₹2,682.12 crore.
The Sensex rose 77.05 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 75,315.04. The Nifty gained 6.45 points to end at 23,649.95. Bank Nifty declined 173.35 points to 53,537.00.
The broader market remained weak. On the BSE, 1,199 stocks advanced while 3,117 declined. On the NSE, 936 shares rose and 2,368 fell.
The US has reportedly withdrawn all cases against Adani Group companies. Adani Enterprises settled one case by agreeing to pay a penalty of around ₹2,650 crore ($275 million). Cases against Gautam Adani and seven others were also withdrawn. The group had earlier settled a case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission by paying $18 million. Reports said Robert Giuffra, one of Trump’s private lawyers, played a key role in negotiating the settlements.
Indian Oil Corporation reported a 56.6 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, while revenue increased seven percent. The company said the impact of war-driven oil price increases was felt only during the final days of March. For FY26, net profit jumped from ₹12,962 crore to ₹36,802 crore, an increase of 184 percent.
GE Vernova posted strong revenue growth and an 89 percent rise in profit.
Eicher Motors received 215.7 acres of land in Andhra Pradesh for a new manufacturing plant involving an investment of ₹2,500 crore.
Indraprastha Gas Limited reported a 21 percent fall in March-quarter net profit due to higher gas prices and supply constraints.
Trump’s decision to delay military action lifted gold prices. Gold, which had fallen to around $4,480 per ounce earlier, rose $26.30 to close at $4,567.40 per ounce on Monday. It eased slightly to around $4,565 this morning.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold prices fell ₹520 on Monday to ₹1,14,560 per sovereign.
Silver rose 2.5 percent to close at $77.81 per ounce and climbed further to $78.79 this morning.
Platinum was trading at $1,991 per ounce, palladium at $1,407 and rhodium at $9,325.
Higher crude prices continued to pressure industrial metals. Copper fell 0.93 percent to $13,427.85 per tonne, while aluminium declined 0.16 percent to $3,566.80.
Nickel, lead and tin also weakened, while zinc edged higher.
Global rubber prices fell again on Monday. In Bangkok, RSS-3 rubber dropped to $290.60 per quintal, while RSS-1 was quoted at $294.20. In Kerala, RSS-4 rubber remained at ₹26,100.
Cocoa prices fell for the fifth straight session in international markets. Prices declined 5.27 percent to $3,791 per tonne after Ivory Coast raised its 2025-26 production forecast from 1.9 million tonnes to 2.2 million tonnes.
The US dollar index slipped slightly to 99.19 on Monday and fell further to 99.04 this morning.
The euro weakened to $1.1646 and the pound slipped to $1.3416. The Japanese yen weakened to 158.95 against the dollar, while the Chinese yuan strengthened to 6.80 per dollar.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury stood at 4.597 percent this morning.
Despite softer crude prices and a weaker dollar index, pressure on the rupee persisted. The dollar opened at ₹96.20 on Monday, rose to ₹96.39 and closed at ₹96.35.
In the offshore non-deliverable forward market, the dollar was trading around ₹96.38 this morning. The euro strengthened to ₹112.24, while the Chinese yuan climbed to ₹14.17.
Crude prices fell after Trump indicated that military action would not begin immediately.
Brent crude closed Monday at $112.10 per barrel before slipping to $109.54 this morning. WTI crude fell to $102.55, while UAE Murban crude traded at $106.62.
Cryptocurrencies continued to trade under pressure. Bitcoin remained below $76,870 this morning, while Ethereum stayed below $2,130 and Solana below $86.50.
Sensex: 75,315.04 (+0.10 percent)
Nifty 50: 23,649.95 (+0.03 percent)
Bank Nifty: 53,537.00 (-0.32 percent)
Midcap 100: 60,473.80 (-0.15 percent)
Smallcap 100: 17,656.75 (-1.26 percent)
Dow Jones: 49,686.12 (+0.32 percent)
S&P 500: 7,403.05 (-0.07 percent)
Nasdaq: 26,090.73 (-0.51 percent)
Dollar: ₹96.35 (+₹0.38)
Gold (ounce): $4,567.40 (+$26.30)
Gold (sovereign): ₹1,14,560 (-₹520)
