Indian Stocks Log Best Day In 4 Years As Ceasefire With Pakistan Holds, Airports Reopen

The ceasefire between India and Pakistan which ended nearly a week of intense border fighting which included heavy cross-border shelling, aerial engagements, and drone warfare is holding into Monday. Washington, New Delhi, and Islamabad are celebrating.

Signs of normalcy and life are fast returning to both sites of the restive Line of Control (LOC) in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir regions, where the fighting took place. India's aviation authority announced Monday that 32 airports in hard-impacted northern regions of the country have reopened.

Airports across Srinagar, Chandigarh, and Amritsar had been ordered closed, all commercial flights halted, since May 9th and the launch of India's 'Operation Sindoor' - meant as retaliation for last month's Pahalgam terror attack which left 26 mostly Indian tourists dead.

Both India and Pakistan had at one point imposed blanket suspensions of civilian aviation across broad swathes of their countries, and various international carriers had paused service to the warring countries, during what was the worst fighting in decades.

The ceasefire went into effect after Trump's major Saturday morning announcement, which was around 5pm in India and Pakistan that "After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE." He lauded the leaders of both countries for "using common sense and great intelligence."

Still there were reports of some violations, but nothing major in terms of sustained shelling has come out of it:

Hours after the ceasefire was announced on Saturday, India accused Pakistan of violating it by shelling border regions. Residents across major towns in Kashmir were on their toes, once again, after drones reappeared in the skies.

One of the worst-affected places in Kashmir during these days is Uri, a picturesque town of pear orchards and walnut groves close to India’s contested border with Pakistan.

There are various regional reports saying that in many of these hardest-hit villages and towns along the border, people are actually returning to their homes, in a sign of optimism that the peace will hold. Some market headlines also point to optimism:

• INDIA'S NIFTY 50 INDEX JUMPS 3% AFTER CEASEFIRE WITH PAKISTAN
• PAKISTAN'S KSE-30 SURGES 9.2% ON INDIA TRUCE, IMF LOAN PAYOUT
• TRUMP: LEADERSHIP OF INDIA, PAKISTAN UNWAIVERING
  TRUMP PRAISES FULL, IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE BETWEEN INDIA, PAKISTAN
• Reuters: Indian stocks log best day in 4 years on border truce; Pakistan shares surge

Monday trading saw the Nifty50 close above 24,000; and BSE Sensex rallied 3,000 points to cross 82,400. Overall this constituted a sharp rally of nearly 4% in India’s benchmark indices.

To be expected, both sides are claiming a 'win' - however, India reportedly lost up to five jets in hostile encounters. Both sides have thanked Trump for his peace mediation efforts, meanwhile.

"We thank President Trump for his leadership and proactive role for peace in the region," said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Days prior to the ceasefire, Vice President J.D. Vance had explained to Fox News that Washington would not get involved militarily, but would use its diplomatic might: "What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it," he said.

Everyone is happy except for mainstream media, it seems...

In this conflict at least, Trump has fulfilled a campaign promise to essentially be a 'peace' president who negotiations the end to wars, and avoids starting them. This is certainly a diplomatic win as be departs for a Middle East tour (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE).

Meanwhile, Trump addresses India-Pakistan peace on Monday...