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The Indian markets witnessed a highly volatile trading session on Tuesday. While the indices traded in green, the gains remained muted as investors remained on the lookout for a potential trade deal between the US and India. Both S Jaishankar and the White House expressed optimism regarding a deal between the two countries anytime now as Donald Trump's tariff deadline nears.

As such, the BSE Sensex closed trading near 83,700, climbing 91 points, while the NSE Nifty50 ended the session at 25,542, inching up 25 points. On the 30-share Sensex, BEL, Reliance, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, and Kotak Bank stood among the gainers. Meanwhile, Axis Bank, Trent, Eternal, Tech M, and ICICI Bank closed among the laggards.

In the broader markets, the indices painted a mixed picture, but the momentum remained muted on both sides of the spectrum. Sectorally, the Midsmall Financial Services dominated in green and closed 0.85 per cent higher, while the Media index clocked massive losses of 1.31 per cent.

Oil Prices Today

Crude oil prices remained broadly stable on Tuesday, after an initial dip during early trade. Market participants appeared cautious ahead of the upcoming OPEC+ meeting, which could provide clarity on output strategy for August. As of around 12 noon, Brent crude was priced at $66.84 per barrel, showing a marginal gain of 10 cents or 0.2 per cent. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $65.20 a barrel, inching up by 9 cents or 0.1 per cent, according to a Reuters update. Amid growing uncertainty, traders remain wary about the possible continuation of production increases by oil-producing countries. "The market is now concerned that the OPEC+ alliance will continue with its accelerated rate of output increases," ANZ’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said in a research note.

During the opening session, markets traded in the positive territory but with mild gains. At 9:05 AM during the pre-open phase, the Sensex hovered slightly above the 83,600 mark, up by less than 10 points. Simultaneously, the Nifty edged past 25,550, rising nearly 20 points.

A few minutes into the trading session, at 9:15 AM, the benchmarks showed modest momentum. The Sensex advanced over 120 points to trade above 83,700, while the Nifty held steady, gaining around 10 points and staying above the 25,500 level. However, the early optimism quickly faded, with both indices trimming gains within the first hour of trade.

How Did Markets Fare Yesterday?

This opening comes a day after domestic equities snapped a four-day winning streak. On Monday, profit booking dragged the Sensex down by more than 450 points to close just above 83,600. The Nifty also slipped, settling at 25,517, registering a loss of over 120 points.

The rupee mirrored market weakness, closing 23 paise lower at 85.73 (provisional) against the US dollar. The fall came amid a firming trend in global crude prices and weakness in domestic equities.