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EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
May-18-2026

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial losses to end marginally higher on Monday, supported by value buying at lower levels. Markets made a negative start, amid concerns over the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict and rising uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. However, strong buying in IT stocks during the latter half of the session helped indices to recover from sharp losses and close slightly above the neutral lines. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

India-China trade sees strong growth in April 2026: Traders took note of report that India’s trade with China witnessed strong growth in April 2026, with exports to China surging 27 per cent year-on-year to $1.77 billion in April 2026 as compared to $1.39 billion in April 2025.

India, Netherlands enhance collaboration through new 17 agreements: Some support came as 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.

India's exports and imports with the West Asian region declined by over 28% in April: Upside remained capped as Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India's exports and imports with the West Asian region declined by over 28 per cent in April, falling for the second straight month, amid severe disruptions in ship movements following the war involving the US, Israel and Iran.

On the global front: European markets were trading mostly lower, as investors remained focused on escalating tensions in the Middle East. Asian markets closed mostly in red, as China's industrial production and retail sales logged weaker-than-expected growth in April.

The BSE Sensex ended at 75315.04, up by 77.05 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 74180.26 and 75466.60. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.95%, TECK up by 1.78%, Healthcare up by 0.22% and Telecom up by 0.05%, while Auto down by 1.74%, PSU down by 1.60%, Consumer Discretionary down by 1.26%, Metal down by 1.13% and Utilities down by 1.12% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 4.97%, Infosys up by 2.47%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.74%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.37% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.09%, Power Grid Corp down by 2.89%, SBI down by 2.47%, NTPC down by 2.46% and Trent down by 1.64% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Moody's Ratings, in a global report on geopolitical risks, has said that India and other major oil-importing nations (China, Japan and South Korea) are likely to pursue bilateral negotiations with Iran to secure energy supplies, potentially through coordinated transit corridors. However, it cautioned that a return to pre-war traffic volumes is doubtful in 2026. It noted that there is little prospect of a swift and lasting resolution between the US and Iran, and consequently, of the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. It said transit flows are likely to improve gradually, but through bilateral channels rather than a general reopening. This could lead to a modest increase in energy transit flows from the current near-zero levels, although the recovery process is likely to remain slow, opaque and vulnerable to disruptions.

It said even if safe passage in the Strait were to resume in the next six months, the oil market would remain supply-constrained, with persistently higher and more volatile energy prices and broader knock-on effects through costs, demand and financing conditions for exposed borrowers. In its May 12 report Moody's had noted that it expects Brent crude in the $90-110/bbl range for much of this year, with significant volatility, including occasional fluctuations outside this range in response to new developments. At sustained Brent prices of $90-110/bbl, Moody's estimates real GDP growth reductions of 0.2-0.8 percentage point for several major economies.

It said ‘India is among the most exposed, given around 46% of its crude oil imports come from the Middle East, its sensitivity to currency depreciation and pressure on its current account and fiscal management’. In its May Global Macro outlook, Moody's slashed India's GDP growth estimate for 2026 calendar year by 0.8 percentage points to 6 per cent. It expects inflation in India to average 4.5 per cent in 2026, up 1 percentage point from its earlier estimate. Further, it warned that persistently higher energy prices and scarcity of energy products will feed into headline and core inflation.

The CNX Nifty ended at 23649.95, up by 6.45 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 23317.10 and 23695.65. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 4.34%, Infosys up by 2.10%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.72%, Sun Pharma up by 1.47% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.45%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.29%, Power Grid Corp down by 3.04%, SBI down by 2.47%, NTPC down by 1.76% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.72% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 67.65 points or 0.85% to 7,884.90 and Germany’s DAX lost 71.47 points or 0.3% to 23,879.10, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 12.14 points or 0.12% to 10,207.51.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Monday tracking Wall Street’s fall last Friday, as spiking crude oil prices and global bond yields revived inflation fears, and a raft of Chinese data signalled slowing economic momentum in April. Meanwhile, a drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones, escalating regional tensions. US President Donald Trump issued a fresh warning to Iran on Sunday, saying it had to move quickly towards a peace deal or ‘there won't be anything left of them’. Japanese shares declined as technology-related stocks succumbed to profit taking following recent strong gains. Besides, the 10-year Japanese government bond yield climbed to its multi-decade high due to intensifying inflation concerns and Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike expectations. However, Seoul shares recovered from an early slide, with Samsung Electronics jumped 3.9% after South Korea’s government stepped in to help avert a looming labour union strike.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,131.53

-3.86

-0.09

Hang Seng

25,675.18

-287.55

-1.11

Jakarta Composite

6,599.24

-124.08

-1.88

KLSE Composite

1,727.71

-12.51

-0.72

Nikkei 225

60,815.95

-593.34

-0.97

Straits Times

4,996.75

7.67

0.15

KOSPI Composite

7,516.04

22.86

0.31

Taiwan Weighted

40,891.82

-280.54

-0.68
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