India VIX slips 21% after US-Iran ceasefire, crude slips below $100

At 10:59 AM, India VIX was down 21.1 per cent at 19.48 after US President Donald Trump delayed attacks on Iranian infrastructure, and crude oil prices declined below $100 per barrel

Indian stock market volatility declined 21.1 per cent on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump delayed attacks on Iranian infrastructure, and crude oil prices declined below $100 per barrel. At 10:59 AM, India VIX was down 21.1 per cent at 19.48. 

 

The volatility gauge measures the market's expectation of future volatility based on Nifty50 index options contracts. It typically rises when market volatility is expected to increase, indicating higher uncertainty or risk in the near future.

 

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex index traded at 77,467.67, surging 2,851.09 points or 3.82 per cent, and NSE Nifty50 quoted 23,985.45, up 861.8 points or 3.73 per cent. Last checked, Brent crude oil slipped 13.25 per cent to $94.25 per barrel.

 

 

The US and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire agreement an hour before Trump's Tuesday deadline of 8 PM local time. Iran agreed to allow safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks, while Trump said Washington considers Tehran's 10-point plan a workable basis for negotiation.

 

Ahead of the deadline, Trump had issued a statement saying Iran would permit safe passage through the strait on the condition that its power infrastructure was not targeted.

 

Trump said the decision followed conversations with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, describing the outcome as "a double-sided ceasefire."

 

In a telephonic conversation with AFP, Trump said he believed China had persuaded Iran to come to the negotiating table, adding that Tehran's enriched uranium would be "perfectly taken care of."

 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the development as "a victory for the United States", saying Washington had achieved and exceeded its core military objectives within 38 days.

 

Iran's Supreme National Security Council, meanwhile, declared a "historic victory", saying nearly all of Tehran's war objectives had been met following Trump's suspension of the bombing campaign.

 

On the streets of Tehran, demonstrators gathered after the ceasefire announcement, burning American and Israeli flags and chanting slogans against both countries.

 

In a notable discrepancy, the Farsi version of Iran's 10-point ceasefire plan included a reference to the "acceptance of enrichment" related to its nuclear programme — wording that was absent from the English versions shared with journalists by Iranian diplomats.

 

“The two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran has dramatically altered the near-term market scenario. The crash in Brent crude to $95 following the ceasefire has again turned the market bullish. This ceasefire, particularly the agreed reopening of the Hormuz Strait, will embolden the bulls to charge again, aided by the fair market valuations,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Investments.

 

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