Trump’s 5-day pause on Iran strikes sparks relief rally in markets

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded nearly 2 per cent on Tuesday, tracking a relief rally in Asian markets after US President Donald Trump announced a temporary halt on strikes targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 1,372.06 points or 1.89 per cent to close at 74,068.45, after rising 1,793 points intra-day. The NSE Nifty climbed 399.75 points or 1.78 per cent to settle at 22,912.40.

Among Sensex stocks, Larsen & Toubro, InterGlobe Aviation, Eternal, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance and UltraTech Cement led gains, while Power Grid and State Bank of India lagged. Trump said he extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and paused strikes on energy sites for five days, easing fears of supply disruption.

“Markets saw a constructive rebound after the previous session’s sharp fall, supported by easing risk perception amid signs of de-escalation in US-Iran tensions,” said Hariprasad K of Livelong Wealth. He added the rally reflects short covering and value buying rather than a structural trend reversal. Asian markets including Kospi, Nikkei 225, Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng ended higher, while European markets traded mostly lower. US markets had closed higher on Monday.

Investor wealth rose by Rs 7.56 lakh crore to Rs 4.50 trillion. Broader markets outperformed, with BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices gaining up to 2.77 per cent. All sectoral indices ended in the green, led by services, industrials and banking stocks. Vinod Nair of Geojit said caution persists amid uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz.