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Indices recover from day’s lows; still trade in red
May-18-2026

Indian equity markets recovered from the day’s lows but continued to trade in the red in late morning deals on account of selling by funds and retail investors. Rising crude oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields weighed on domestic market sentiment. Crude oil prices surged after Trump said the Clock is Ticking for Iran and warned there won’t be anything left if action was not taken soon. Further, sentiments were also weak as the rupee has depreciated 47 paise to 96.28 against the US dollar amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. The free fall in the rupee has been ongoing over the past two weeks since Iran and US talks ended in deadlock with no possibility of ending the conflict. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions only in TECK and IT, while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, Utilities, PSU, Capital Goods and Industrials. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following negative cues from the US markets on Friday. Traders were cautious as China's industrial production logged weaker-than-expected growth in April. Industrial production rose 4.1 percent in April from the last year. The growth fell short of the expected rise of 6.0 percent and remained below March's increase of 5.7 percent. Back home, in the stock specific development, Great Eastern Shipping Company surged as the company, on consolidated basis, has reported near three-fold jump in its net profit at Rs 1,044.09 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2026 as compared to Rs 363.09 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.  

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74810.15, down by 427.84 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 74180.26 and 74852.33. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 1.21% and IT up by 0.80%, while Consumer Durables down by 2.16%, Utilities down by 2.02%, PSU down by 1.98%, Capital Goods down by 1.92% and Industrials down by 1.88% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.81%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.33%, Infosys up by 1.14%, HCL Technologies up by 0.36% and Sun Pharma up by 0.34%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 4.45%, Tata Steel down by 3.69%, Eternal down by 2.49%, SBI down by 2.49% and Maruti Suzuki down by 2.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India and the Netherlands have deepened their cooperation by entering into a strategic partnership and signing 17 agreements in areas such as defence, critical minerals, and other key sectors during a meeting between PM Narendra Modi and his Dutch counterpart, Rob Jetten, amid changing global geopolitical dynamics.\

In their meeting, the two prime ministers have expressed grave concern over the situation in West Asia, particularly its serious implications for the region and the wider world in view of disruptions caused to the global energy supplies and trade networks.

Moreover, Modi and Jetten have emphasized the importance of freedom of navigation and the uninterrupted flow of global commerce through the Strait of Hormuz, while opposing any restrictive measures, and reaffirmed their support for ongoing initiatives in this regard. Nearly one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies pass through Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has faced major disruptions since February 28 after the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23516.20, down by 127.30 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 23317.10 and 23518.60. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 2.66%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.27%, Coal India up by 0.93%, Infosys up by 0.91% and Nestle up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 4.38%, Tata Steel down by 3.70%, Eternal down by 2.57%, SBI down by 2.50% and Shriram Finance down by 2.13% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 328.29 points or 0.53% to 61,081.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 254.19 points or 0.62% to 40,918.17, Jakarta Composite plunged 252.97 points or 3.91% to 6,470.35, Shanghai Composite weakened 4.09 points or 0.1% to 4,131.30, Hang Seng declined 311.73 points or 1.2% to 25,651.00 and Straits Times fell 22.17 points or 0.44% to 4,966.91. However, KOSPI increased 47.60 points or 0.64% to 7,540.78.
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