GIFT Nifty rises 0.8% as US likely proposed temporary waiver on Iran oil sanctions

Iranian news agency Tasnim claimed the US has proposed a temporary waiver on Iran oil sanctions during ongoing negotiations

Iranian news agency Tasnim claimed the US has proposed a temporary waiver on Iran oil sanctions during ongoing negotiations. This means Iranian oil sanctions could be temporarily relaxed while talks continue. Tasnim cited sources close to US negotiation team.

No official US confirmation has come by the time of publishing this article.

As a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran extends past 40 days and a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remains elusive, President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Tehran and told it the “clock is ticking.” Earlier, drones targeted a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates.

At 6:22 pm on May 18, GIFT Nifty futures were trading 0.8% higher at 23,806, which implies a gap-up opening for Indian markets on May 19.

The Nifty 50 closed 0.03% higher at 23,649.95, and the BSE Sensex added 0.1% to 75,315.04 on May 18. The indexes fell as much as 1.4% during the session.

Eleven of the 16 major sectors fell, while small-caps and mid-caps lost 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

IT index jumped 2.4% as a stronger dollar raised expectations of better profit growth for companies that earn a large share of revenue in the greenback. The index had dropped 5.7% last week.

Meanwhile, Wall Street futures eased on May 18 with Nasdaq futures trading 0.1% lower as against 0.9% earlier in the day and S&P 500 futures were down 0.15% as compared to 0.6% earlier.