Sensex Today, Nifty 50 | Stock Market Highlights: Indian stock market has rebounded on short covering amid rumours that Iran had made conditional offers to the US to consider giving up its nuclear programme under one condition. However, Iran denied a report that its Ministry of Intelligence reached out to the US to negotiate an end to the Middle East war, according to Bloomberg.
The New York Times said Iranian operatives indirectly contacted the Central Intelligence Agency on Sunday to discuss terms to end the conflict. That is “pure falsehood and psychological warfare,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing a ministry source.
The Sensex ended 899.71 points or 1.14% higher at 80,015.90 while the Nifty settled at 24,765.90, up 285.40 points or 1.17%.
In intra-day deals, Sensex jumped as much as 1,187.64 points or 1.5% to its day’s high of 80,303.83 while Nifty 50 rallied 373.70 points to its day’s high of 24,854.20.
Meanwhile, the US-Iran war continues with a barrage of missile exchanges. According to Euro News, Iran has struck an oil tanker in the Gulf, which reportedly belonged to the United States.
Nifty Metal index was the top gainers, soaring over 3% followed by auto, oil & gas, pharma, realty, and banking indices. However, IT continued to decline.
In the last 3 sessions, Indian markets witnessed sharp sell-off on concerns surrounding the ongoing US-Iran conflict weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
Global Markets Today
Global equities rose on Thursday even as tensions in the Middle East escalated, with Iran launching more missiles at Israel on the sixth day of the conflict. However, U.S. stock futures signalled a weaker start, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures falling 0.2% and S&P 500 futures slipping 0.1%.
Oil prices remained a key driver of market sentiment. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.8% to $82.87 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude climbed 2.1% to $76.31 per barrel.
The conflict intensified as Iran launched fresh attacks on Israeli and American bases and warned the United States would “bitterly regret” the reported destruction of an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. Israel, meanwhile, said it had begun a “large-scale” attack on Tehran.
European markets edged higher, with Germany’s DAX rising 0.2% to 24,253.24, France’s CAC 40 gaining 0.3% to 8,194.80, and Britain’s FTSE 100 advancing 0.4% to 10,609.63.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi rebounded 9.6% to 5,583.90 after steep losses a day earlier, touching gains of 12% intraday and triggering temporary trading halts. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.9% higher at 55,278.06.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 25,321.34 after China set a 4.5%–5% growth target and proposed a 7% rise in defence spending, while Shanghai gained 0.6% to 4,108.57. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%, New Zealand’s benchmark gained 0.6%, and Taiwan’s index climbed 2.6%.