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Informist, Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – A major breakthrough in the US-Iran peace deal announced by US President Donald Trump late Thursday is expected to ease investor nervousness and help the benchmark indices open higher Friday. Crude oil prices reacted to the news, falling to around $88 a barrel. All Asian equity indices were also trading higher in early trade.

Trump Thursday claimed that the US "just made a great settlement of the war with Iran," subject to the "finalisation of documents," CNBC reported. Trump said in the Oval Office that he expects a signing to occur "over the next few days," repeating similar claims he has made numerous times during the war, according to the report. Trump also said the "time and place of the signing" will be "announced shortly". The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened as soon as a deal is signed, Trump said.

However, soon after Trump's announcement, Iranian state media Fars reported on Telegram that Tehran had not approved any text for an initial memorandum of understanding with the US, CNBC reported. "The reality is that up until now, not only has Iran not given a final response, but it is the US that has returned to its previous demand," Fars reported.

Prior to the announcement, Trump had warned that US forces would be hitting Iran "very hard" in the night and, in the near future, assuming "total control" of Iran's oil and gas markets, just as Washington had done in Venezuela. "The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT," Trump had posted on social media.

Oil prices fell below $90 a barrel on hopes of the West Asia conflict nearing its end. At 0735 IST, the August Brent crude oil futures contract was over 1% lower at $89.42 a barrel. It had fallen nearly 2% to the intraday low of $88.79 per barrel. However, current prices are still nearly 23% higher than the pre-war level of $72.87 per barrel.

In another development, the government curbed institutional and commercial users from buying petrol and diesel at retail outlets. Sales of high-speed diesel and petrol at retail pumps were curbed for 90 days, the petroleum and natural gas ministry said in a notification Thursday. Retail pumps are not allowed to sell more than 200 litres of high-speed diesel to a single buyer.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has forecast global crude oil demand to rise by 1.0 million barrels per day in 2026, down from 1.2 million barrels per day projected in May. For 2027, OPEC has projected demand growth of 1.7 million barrels per day, up from the previous forecast of 1.5 million barrels per day.

The World Bank Thursday said it expects GDP growth in India to slow down in 2026–27 (Apr-Mar) due to weaker private demand growth owing to higher energy prices. However, economic activity in India is expected to pick up pace over the next two years, on the back of strong domestic demand, it said.

On Thursday, foreign investors net sold shares worth INR 19.87 billion, slightly down from INR 21.25 billion sold Wednesday. Meanwhile, domestic investors continued buying, net buying shares worth INR 42.25 billion, up from INR 31.24 billion on Wednesday.

At 0758 IST, the GIFT Nifty June futures contract was marginally higher from its previous close at 23459. This was almost 300 points higher than the Nifty 50's Thursday close of 23161.60. "Technically, Nifty (50) index is trading in a narrow consolidation range having immediate support at 23000 and resistance at 23500 spot levels," Vipin Kumar, technical and derivatives analyst at Globe Capital Market, said. " A decisive break on either side will start the next short-term directional move in that direction."

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi gained the most among Asian equity indices, up nearly 8% higher. The Nikkei 225 was almost 4% higher, while the Taiex was nearly 3% higher. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 indices closed almost 2% higher each Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite settled 2.5% higher.  End

US$1 = INR 95.76

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Saji George Titus

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