Gift Nifty: Oil prices retreated sharply on Friday to reach the level of $90 or below per barrel following reports that Iran and US have agreed to extend their ceasefire by 60 days and are likely to reopen
the Strait of Hormuz by allowing unrestricted shipping. This signals a major breakthrough between the warring parties since the tensions rose after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei in a joint military operation that has thrown the entire Middle East into turmoil.
In response to the escalated tensions, Iran suspended shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane through which 20 per cent of global crude oil and natural gas trade passes from Gulf nations, such as Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran and Oman.
Despite the de-escalation of the tensions that have been stretched for almost three months, Gift Nifty signals a muted or flat opening for the Indian equity market on Friday. As of 7:37 AM IST, the index was up 11.5 points, or 0.05%, at 23,885.
WTI futures fell 1.32 per cent to $87 per barrel in the morning session.
Gold and silver, meanwhile, maintained their positions, with the yellow metal holding around $4505 per ounce with a gain of 0.20 per cent. White metal gained 0.36 per cent to $75 per ounce.
Asian Markets Trade Higher
Asian markets traded higher on Friday, led by strong gains in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.87% or 1,210.48 points to 65,903.60 after opening at 65,133.97 and touching an intraday high of 66,041.83. South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 2.26% or 185.33 points to 8,370.62, while Taiwan’s TAIEX advanced 2.33% or 1,014.79 points to 44,651.23, reflecting broad-based optimism across regional equities.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index posted a more modest gain of 0.41%, rising 103.34 points to 25,109.50. The benchmark traded between 25,076.40 and 25,209.33 during the session after opening at 25,161.52. The upbeat performance across major Asian markets comes amid easing geopolitical concerns and improving risk sentiment among investors.
