May 29 (Reuters) – Indian shares are expected to open little changed on Friday, as investors assess the situation in the Middle East and await confirmation over a potential ceasefire extension between the U.S. and Iran.
The U.S. and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters, though U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to approve it, and Iranian state media said it had not been finalized.
The GIFT Nifty futures were at 23,890.05 as of 7:52 a.m. IST, indicating the benchmark Nifty 50 would open near Wednesday’s close of 23,907.15.
Indian markets were closed on Thursday for a local holiday.
Brent crude futures dropped to $93 per barrel, while Asian markets jumped 1.6% on optimism over the U.S.-Iran deal and AI rally. [MKTS/GLOB]
“The sharp decline in crude oil prices and progress toward a U.S.–Iran truce are supportive for equities, while continued (foreign investor) selling and the pending approval of the truce agreement may keep gains capped in the near term,” said Ponmudi R, chief executive officer at Enrich Money.
Foreign investors sold Indian shares worth 10.4 billion rupees ($108.70 million) on Wednesday, as per provisional data. They have offloaded $24.3 billion of shares so far this year, already surpassing 2025’s record annual outflows.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Wipro will be in focus after its U.S.-listed shares soared 18.5% on Thursday following a partnership with ServiceNow to implement agentic AI workflows
** Edtech company Physicswallah narrows quarterly losses, while revenue rises about 13%. The company also approved a 1.2 billion rupee investment in Finz Finance via a rights issue
** Ashok Leyland reports its highest-ever quarterly profit and revenue, helped by strong demand for commercial vehicles
($1 = 95.6800 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
