Indian Markets Add ₹30.1 Lakh Crore on US-Iran Truce
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- BSE-listed companies gained ₹30.1 lakh crore in market value during the week after a 15-day US-Iran ceasefire was announced, partially recouping the ₹41.36 lakh crore wiped off since the West Asia war erupted on February 28
- Foreign portfolio investors turned net buyers for the first time since the conflict began, purchasing ₹672 crore on Friday — a modest reversal against ₹48,233 crore in April outflows (the last net buy was February 25)
- Brent crude fell 0.1% to $95.68 after touching nearly $120 at the start of the conflict, easing the oil-price shock that had hammered emerging-market sentiment
- India's VIX dropped 7.8% to 18.9 and fell 26% for the week; the Nifty closed above 24,000 and is targeting the 50-day moving average of 24,500, then 25,000, per Motilal Oswal's Ruchit Jain
- Broader market breadth was strong: the Nifty Mid-cap 150 and Small-cap 250 each rose 1.6% Friday (up 7.6% and 7% for the week), with 3,325 of 4,449 BSE shares advancing
- Asian peers joined the rally — Japan gained 1.8%, Taiwan 1.6%, South Korea 1.4%, and China and Hong Kong roughly 0.5% higher
- Next week's Islamabad negotiations on reopening the Strait of Hormuz are the key catalyst; the US has warned that failure to do so could jeopardize the ceasefire, and Abakkus Mutual Fund's Vaiibhavv Chugh said ~90% of the correction is likely done and the index may be near the bottom
Why it matters: Indian retail investors and foreign funds both caught a reprieve from the brutal ₹41.36 lakh crore sell-off since February 28, but the rally's sustainability hinges on next week's Islamabad talks — the US has explicitly warned that if Iran refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the ceasefire collapses and the fragile recovery could reverse just as quickly.
