Indian equity markets opened sharply lower as investors turned cautious amid renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran. However, the benchmark indices extended losses and plunged over 2 per cent after US President Donald Trump said an interim agreement with Iran to end the war was “over”, reigniting fears of a fresh escalation in the Middle East. The BSE Sensex fell 1,707.94 points to trade at 76,,472.78 and the Nifty 50 slumped 521.2 points to 23,877.50.
All the 30-Sensex firms were trading in the red. InterGlobe Aviation, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra were major laggards.
Meanwhile, brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 6.19 per cent higher at USD 78.75 per barrel.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 5.35 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index declined 2.11 per cent, and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index dipped 0.49 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.99 per cent. US markets ended lower on Tuesday.
Trump says ceasefire is ‘over’
US President Donald Trump said that the interim agreement with Iran was “over”, but he would allow talks to continue. That raised concerns that the wider conflict in the Middle East could resume – and oil prices shot up.
“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump responded when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that US representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.
The crossfire came during the dayslong funeral for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in the war’s first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions – though mourners have repeatedly called for the killings of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after Khamenei’s burial and focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. But the new attacks throw that into question, though neither country immediately signalled they’d walk away from the negotiating table.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over,” Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X. “It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”
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(This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, financial, or other advice.)
