(RTTNews) - Indian shares fluctuated before ending slightly higher on Wednesday as investors reacted to a spate of positive newsflow linked to the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, which has now entered its 12th week and effectively kept the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed to shipping traffic.
The dollar steadied near a six-week high and crude oil prices fell nearly 2 percent after U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran wanted to make a deal "so badly", asserting that the ongoing conflict would end "very quickly."
He further stated that global oil prices will plummet soon due to abundant supply.
Vice President JD Vance said that peace talks are making good progress, but Washington was "locked and loaded" to restart military operations if negotiations collapse.
In another development, the British government has relaxed sanctions on Russian energy imports to address rising fuel costs due to the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier this week, the United States announced another 30-day extension of a sanctions waiver for countries buying Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea.
Meanwhile, NATO is not drawing up any plans for a potential mission in the Strait of Hormuz and would need a political decision to do so, U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, said.
The benchmark BSE Sensex swung between gains and losses before closing up 117.54 points, or 0.16 percent, at 75,318.39.
The broader NSE Nifty index settled 41 points, or 0.17 percent, higher at 23,659 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes edged up by half a percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
The market breadth was strong on the BSE, with 2,124 shares rising while 1,979 shares declined and 207 shares closed unchanged.
Reliance Industries was among the top performers with a nearly 3 percent gain while NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, Indigo, Trent and Bajaj FinServ all rose around 1 percent.
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