Indian Shares Rally As Trump Announces Iran War Exit

(RTTNews) - Indian shares opened on a strong note Wednesday after U.S. President Trump said the U.S. could end its Iran military campaign within 2-3 weeks, claiming that Washington had already achieved its core objectives of hobbling Iran's nuclear ambitions and bringing a regime change in the country.

Asserting that Tehran no longer possessed functional defense infrastructure, Trump claimed that the U.S. "will not have anything to do with" what happens next in the Strait of Hormuz and that other nations can reopen the key shipping lane that supplies 20 percent of the world's oil consumption.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 1,887 points, or 2.6 percent, at 73,834 in early trade while the broader NSE Nifty index rose by 548 points, or 2.5 percent, to 22,879.

Among the top gainers, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, TCS, Adani Ports, Trent and BEL surged 4-7 percent.

InterGlobe Aviation soared 8.5 percent after announcing leadership changes.

Infosys surged 4 percent after announcing two significant acquisitions in the healthcare and insurance technology sectors to enhance its global footprint.

Vedanta soared 5 percent after extending the deadline for its demerger plan to June 30.

HDFC Bank rallied 2.2 percent despite Atanu Chakraborty, the former chairman, pointing to internal concerns related to mis-selling of AT-1 bonds and governance issues.

ONGC climbed 2.5 percent after the government lifted the APM gas ceiling to USD 7 per mmBtu.