Oil prices traded flat on Tuesday after tumbling in the previous session as investors remained focused on signs of a sustained recovery in crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the most important waterway transporting 20% of the world’s total oil exports.

Crude oil price on June 23

Brent crude futures rose 24 cents, or 0.38%, to $78.15 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 33 cents, or 0.46%, to $74.19 a barrel as of 0026 GMT.

On Monday, oil prices had dropped more than 3% after the United States granted Iran a 60-day sanctions waiver following initial peace negotiations. Market sentiment was also influenced by reports of reduced hostilities in Lebanon under the broader agreement.

The latest developments came after a tense weekend that had raised concerns about the stability of the week-old accord. U.S. President Donald Trump had warned that military action could resume if Iran interfered with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran announced the closure of the key waterway.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said Iran would agree to weapons inspections to ensure “nuclear honesty.” “If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement, or if they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do,” Trump later told reporters.

Also read: These large-caps have ‘strong buy’ & ‘buy’ recos and an upside potential of up to 24%

Where are prices headed?

Despite the recent slide in oil prices, a complete reopening of Hormuz is expected to be a complex process. It will require careful coordination of vessel movements, restarting oil wells, repairing infrastructure, and agreeing on de-mining operations. Some shipowners also remain wary of operating conditions in the strait and the wider Persian Gulf.

Analysts note that global oil inventories were depleted during the extended disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and will take time to rebuild. Stockpiles could continue falling before fresh Gulf supplies begin reaching international markets.
Last month, Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser cautioned that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could delay a return to stability in global oil markets until 2027. According to Nasser, prolonged interruptions could affect nearly 100 million barrels of oil supply each week. Saudi Aramco remains the world’s largest oil producer.Read more: NSE and Ambani are about to see if India’s retail crowd still has ‘buy the dip’ energy left

Morgan Stanley described the oil market as being in “a race against time,” warning that some factors limiting the rise in prices could weaken if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed through June.

The brokerage noted that higher U.S. crude exports and softer Chinese demand have so far helped absorb part of the supply shock. However, it cautioned that global supplies could tighten again if disruptions in the strategic shipping route continue, particularly beyond the period during which the U.S. and China can cushion the impact.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

The two mega initial public offerings coming up in India are joined at the hip by retail sentiment. The $7 billion question is if the glue will hold.

If gray-market prices are to be believed, both the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.’s $3 billion IPO and a $4 billion debut of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s telecom and digital media empire are likely to find keen interest among local investors desperate for some excitement, the kind that secondary markets have been failing to provide lately.

While global capital chased the AI semiconductor booms in Taipei and Seoul — tripling Korean stocks and doubling Taiwanese equities — the benchmark Indian index hasn’t gone anywhere in the past two years. Worse, the war in Iran has torn a hole in the energy-importing nation’s fragile balance of payments. A plunge in the rupee has scared away foreign capital.

But now that the US and Iran have at least started peace talks, all eyes are on India’s individual stock buyers. They have only recently started to return after beating a retreat from markets. The common investing public needs to get its mojo back, and that’s where both the similarities and the differences between the two IPOs become important.

Both the NSE, India’s largest exchange, and Ambani’s Jio Platforms Ltd. have attractive moats: They are dominant players in what are effectively duopolistic industries, too heavily regulated for new competition to break in. The NSE’s rival is the 151-year-old BSE Ltd., or the erstwhile Bombay Stock Exchange, which has just a 7% share of the overall cash-equity turnover. Jio’s 500 million-plus subscribers — and a media empire buttressed by a lock on cricket, a national craze — put it considerably ahead of Bharti Airtel Ltd., the nearest challenger.

Indian investors are intimately familiar with both franchises. As long as India has capital controls, local market participants are beholden to the NSE for wealth creation. In mobile wireless, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Jio deciding the price of data. Even in newer technologies like satellite broadband, national-security concerns may give Ambani an advantage over Elon Musk’s Starlink or Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.
But the differences in the two IPOs are crucial, too. The NSE listing, long delayed by governance scandals at the bourse, is entirely a sale of stock by existing shareholders. Jio, however, will be raising new money, partly to retire nearly $3 billion in debt.In mature markets, the distinction between an offer-for-sale and a fresh capital raise is mere plumbing. In India’s current fragile environment, it’s anything but. Because the NSE listing is structured strictly as an offer-for-sale, no fresh cash will enter the bourse’s treasury. Worse, among those trimming their stakes are foreign giants like Morgan Stanley and Temasek Holdings Pte. At a time when New Delhi is aggressively wooing diaspora dollars to shore up a fraying rupee, the NSE IPO risks becoming an exit ramp for foreign capital.

Ambani’s Jio, conversely, is a magnet for fresh funds. For Jio to succeed, however, the NSE sellers — Indian banks and insurers, foreign institutions, ultra-rich private investors — must leave some money on the table. (Given that the NSE rushed its draft papers to the regulator a day ahead of Jio, the general expectation is that it may be first out the door.) If they overprice the offer and burn retail investors, the flames won’t just singe Ambani; they will also reach Silicon Valley, upsetting everyone from Sundar Pichai to Mark Zuckerberg.

Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are big backers of Jio, as are Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, KKR & Co. and a number of other sovereign wealth funds and private-equity firms. Although none of them are selling in the IPO, they will get to record the gains in their books. For Google alone, that turns a $4.5 billion stake bought six years ago into a $10 billion asset — more if the shares keep rising after listing.

Jio’s success will also help Ambani’s flagship Reliance Industries Ltd. clear the deck for its next big public float: consumer commerce. Carving out India’s largest retailer will still take some work because the competitive intensity in grocery, fashion and electronics sales is much higher than in telecom. All the more reason to keep retail shareholders happy.

Gold prices were steady on Tuesday as investors assessed U.S.-Iran peace talks, while rising expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in December weighed on the metal.

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold was steady at $4,191.09 per ounce, as of 0053 GMT. U.S. gold futures for August delivery rose 0.2% to $4,208.40.

The ‌United States ⁠waived sanctions ⁠on Iran for 60 days from Monday after the first talks under a nascent peace deal, while officials reported a sustained lull in fighting in Lebanon under the agreement aimed at ending hostilities across the region.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said talks with Iranian officials in Switzerland had laid a good foundation for a final ⁠peace deal, ‌although Iran denied that it had begun discussions of its nuclear programme.

Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh will deliver his ⁠first testimony on monetary policy before Congress on July 14, according to a hearing notice published by the House Financial Services Committee.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said that with the labour market stable, he is focused on figuring out whether too-high inflation will stay that way or if it will recede as the effect of high tariffs fades and if ‌the conflict in the Middle East gets resolved.
Traders now see an 89% chance of an interest rate hike in December, up from 61% ⁠before the Fed meeting last week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. [FEDWATCH/]
Gold speculators raised net long positions by 9,258 contracts to 112,918 in the week to June 16. [CFTC/]
Spot silver fell 0.4% to $64.92 per ounce, platinum lost 0.4% to $1,672.90, while palladium was up 0.1% at $1,266.35.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0730 Germany S&P MFG, Services, Composite Flash PMI Jun

0800 EU S&P Mfg, Services, Composite Flash PMI Jun

0830 UK Flash Composite, Manufacturing, Services PMI Jun

1345 US S&P Global Mfg, Svcs, Comp PMI Flash Jun