Stock markets climb in early trade after Trump halts strikes on Iran

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social on Monday late afternoon.

Mumbai: Stock market benchmark indices rallied in early trade on Tuesday, May 19, after US President Donald Trump said he has halted fresh strikes on Iran at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, asserting that serious discussions were underway with Tehran that could lead to an acceptable deal.

Buying in frontline IT stocks, Adani group firms and foreign fund inflows also added to the positive trend in equities.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social on Monday late afternoon.

“I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday),” Trump said.

“We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I’ve put it off for a little while, hopefully, maybe forever, but possibly for a little while, because we’ve had very big discussions with Iran and we’ll see what they amount to,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 366.71 points to 75,706.88 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 107.45 points to 23,760.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Trent and InterGlobe Aviation were among the major winners.

UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan and Eternal were among the laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 2 per cent lower at USD 109.9 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,813.69 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

“FIIs turning buyers, though not a trend yet, is an indication that valuations are becoming attractive in India. Also, the concerns of bubble valuations in AI stocks are increasing. If the FII buying becomes a trend, largecaps in financials, particularly in leading banks will be the segment to move up since their valuations are attractive and the segment has growth potential,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Adani group stocks were trading higher after the US Department of Justice permanently dropped all criminal charges against Indian tycoon Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar, bringing high-profile securities and wire fraud case in New York to a complete close after prosecutors concluded they could not sustain the allegations.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index quoted lower, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were trading higher.

US markets ended on a mixed note on Monday.

Recent remarks from Donald Trump stating that the US is delaying any potential military action against Iran at the request of Gulf leaders have offered some near-term hope of de-escalation, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

“Even so, the broader geopolitical backdrop remains highly fluid, with investors continuing to remain cautious amid the risk of renewed escalation,” he added.

On Monday, the BSE benchmark increased by 77.05 points, or 0.10 per cent, to settle at 75,315.04. The Nifty edged higher by 6.45 points, or 0.03 per cent, to end at 23,649.95.