Indian shares set to open higher as US pushes Iran ceasefire plan

Indian shares are poised to extend gains on Wednesday after reports the U.S. is seeking a month-long ceasefire in its war with Iran and has presented Tehran with a 15-point plan, raising ​hopes that the weeks-long conflict may ease.

GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 23,095, ‌as of 8:03 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 may open higher than Tuesday’s close of 22,912.40.

Asian equities rose 1.9%, while oil slipped to $98 a barrel on expectations that any move toward a ​ceasefire could ease supply disruptions.

The optimism followed reports that Washington had delivered ​the 15-point proposal to Tehran aimed at ending the conflict.

US President Donald ⁠Trump said on Tuesday that Washington was making progress toward negotiating an end to the war, and a ​source confirmed the delivery of the settlement proposal to Tehran, Reuters reported.

Iran, however, has denied that direct talks are ​underway.

Markets remained cautious as strikes by the US, Israel and Iran continued, and Reuters reported, citing sources, that Washington is preparing to deploy, thousands of troops to the Middle East.

“While reports of potential negotiations between Iran and the ​US have provided some relief to markets, it is likely to be conditional on ​incoming news flow and official commentary from both sides,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research of wealth ‌management ⁠at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

“Any meaningful de-escalation could provide a more sustained positive impact on market sentiment.”

Indian benchmark indexes have fallen around 9% each so far this month as elevated crude prices and energy-supply concerns have triggered heavy foreign selling and clouded the economic outlook.

Foreign portfolio investors have offloaded Indian shares worth $11.37 billion in March ​so far, putting markers ​on track for ⁠record monthly outflows.