The phrasing of this question makes the answer subjective. There isn't only one way to correctly analyze a particular piece of literature, so you could go a variety of directions with your analysis. One thing to not do is to write a summary. Writing a summary of the act and scene is not the same thing as analyzing it.
One direction to go might be to analyze the themes that are present in this opening scene of the play. Despite being the very first scene, Shakespeare does a nice job of alerting audiences to some themes that are going to run deeply throughout the entire piece. There is a theme of money, wealth, and materialism present with Antonio's happiness being possibly affected by his shipping venture. Bassanio helps to confirm the thematic importance of money by needing it in order to woo a beautiful and rich woman. Friendship is thematically important within this opening scene as well as possible themes of love and lust.
You could analyze the characters. I enjoy getting students to dig deep into Bassanio's character. He could actually be in love, but it's also possible that he just wants a rich wife to get him out of money trouble. (Portia's beauty might just be a bonus.)
You could do an analysis of the rhythm and meter of the opening scene as well. For the most part, Shakespeare uses iambic pentameter throughout the scene, but there are places that break the pattern. Salarino's first line is only 9 syllables, but it fits with what he says. He is talking about a mind being tossed randomly about like a ship on random waves; the break in the rhythm goes with the broken image he is talking about.
The opening scene of The Merchant of Venice introduces some of the play's main themes and conflicts and introduces some of the key characters.
The first lines of the play introduce Antonio, who says that he is sad but he doesn't know why. His friends suggest that it is because he has a great deal of money invested in some ships at sea, but he denies this and says he is not worried about the money.
His friends then suggest that perhaps Antonio is in love, which Antonio also denies. His friends conclude that perhaps he is just a melancholy person. New friends arrive, and again Antonio is told that he looks very serious and should cheer up, but Antonio does not change.
Antonio's friend Bassanio arrives. Bassanio tells Antonio that he should not pay attention to the remarks of his other friends because they speak "an infinite deal of nothing" (1.1.121). Antonio quickly changes the subject and asks Bassanio to tell him about a mysterious lady that he has been pursuing.
Bassanio tells him that he intends to pursue a woman named Portia, who is rich, beautiful, and virtuous. However, Bassanio has no money and needs to borrow more from Antonio in order to pursue Portia. Antonio's cash is all wrapped up in his investments at sea, but he tells Bassanio that he will draw all the credit that he can in Venice and that Bassanio is welcome to have all of it.
The central conflicts of Bassanio pursuing Portia and the risking of all of Antonio's money are introduced in this first scene. The incessant talk about Antonio's investments alerts the audience to the idea that he may in fact lose all this money (and for much of the play, he thinks he has). The fact that Antonio has no available cash means that he needs to borrow money from Shylock, which sparks the play's central conflict of the debt to Shylock.
Antonio's sadness is strange and never explained; although, all of his friends repeatedly comment on it. Antonio does not appear to be bothered at the thought of losing his money and insists that he is not in love, yet an explanation never surfaces. Some critics have suggested that Antonio is actually in love with Bassanio, and this is why no woman appears for Antonio and why he is willing to risk his life and his fortune for Bassanio. Although this is never explicitly stated in the play, it is a possible direction an actor could suggest with his stage movement and expression.
Antonio's seriousness is also a foil for the rest of the playful young men around him, and this melancholy outsider is not an unusual character type for Shakespeare.
Finally, the theme of exchange, debt, and its link to marriage and love is introduced in the first scene. These ideas will continue to come up throughout the rest of the play.
https://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/MV.html
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