Nifty, Sensex Trade In Range Amid Fresh US-Iran Tensions

Indian stock markets continued to trade in a range-bound manner on April 20 with slight negative returns as US-Iran tensions escalated after seizure of an Iranian vessel. Investors remained cautious on the developments in West Asia and avoided aggressive trades.

The Nifty was trading 25.1 points downs at 24,328.45 and the Sensex was trading 137.3 points lower at 78,356.22.

US President Donald Trump on April 19 said that a US missile destroyer had disabled an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman and seized the vessel. This marked an escalation in the blockade and comes after Iran fired on commercial vessels which were passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said that he would “knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran” if Iran did not agree to US’ terms to end the conflict. Iran on the other hand has said that the US blockade was a violation of the ceasefire and cited it as one of the reasons for calling off the second round of peace talks which was expected in Islamabad on April 20.

Brent crude oil rose over 5 per cent above $95 per barrel amid fresh tensions in West Asia. The rupee fell marginally to 92.71 against the US dollar. However, market participants have mostly already discounted the worst of the US-Iran conflict and did not show aggressive sell-off sentiments.

(This is a developing story. More updates to follow)