Indian shares rise on oil slide, peace-deal hopes

Indian equities opened higher on Thursday, May 7, extending gains from the previous session as global markets rallied on expectations of a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal that helped push oil prices lower.

As of 9:15 a.m. IST, the Nisourcesy 50 index was up 0.28% at 24,398.50, while the BSE Sensex rose 0.49% to 78,339.24. Both benchmarks had climbed 1.2% on Wednesday.

All 16 major sectors were higher in early trade. The broader small-cap and mid-cap indices gained 0.5% each.

Across the region, Asian equities advanced, with Japan's Nikkei breaching the 62,000 mark for the first time and the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index up 1.4%.

Oil prices were in focus asourceser a sharp decline in the previous session. Brent crude futures fell 7.83% to settle at $101.27 a barrel and hovered around $102 in early Asian trade on Thursday.

Lower crude prices are typically positive for India, the world’s third-largest crude importer, as they can ease inflationary pressures and support economic growth and corporate earnings.

Among individual stocks, Bajaj Auto rose 1.2% and Paytm gained 5% asourceser reporting upbeat quarterly results.