Markets Open in Green on Friday; Sensex Up 320 points on Global Cues

Mumbai, May 15: Indian equity markets opened on a cautiously optimistic note on Friday, with the Sensex and Nifty 50 edging into positive territory in early trade, drawing encouragement from a key diplomatic signal out of Beijing that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open. 

The accord, reached on Thursday during high-stakes bilateral talks, offered markets a sliver of hope that the prolonged disruption to global energy supplies caused by the US-Iran war may eventually ease. While geopolitical risks remain far from resolved, the Trump-Xi convergence on the Hormuz question was enough to steady nerves and nudge buyers back into select counters at the open.

The BSE Sensex was trading at 75,717.74, up 319.02 points or 0.42 per cent, while the Nifty 50 held at 23,785.55, gaining 95.95 points or 0.41 per cent, as of 9:30 am on Friday. Both indices had decisively defied the cautious signal from Gift Nifty futures, which had indicated a softer open, trading at 23,674.00 down 191 points or 0.80 per cent as of 8:14 IST, with dip-buyers stepping in selectively to push the market firmly into the green.

Gainers & Losers

Among the top gainers in early trade on the Nifty 50, Tata Motors PV (TMPV) surged 6.57 per cent the standout mover of the morning while Tech Mahindra rose 1.94 per cent, Infosys added 1.87 per cent, TCS climbed 1.66 per cent, and HCL Technologies gained 1.56 per cent. On the losing side, Hindalco bore the steepest brunt, falling 2.50 per cent, while Trent slipped 0.96 per cent, Adani Enterprises declined 0.94 per cent, BEL lost 0.94 per cent, and Asian Paints shed 0.77 per cent.

Broader & Sectoral Markets

In the broader market, the Nifty 100 was marginally lower at 24,650.80, down 0.01 per cent, while the Nifty 500 fell 0.10 per cent to 22,591.55, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 was the weaker performer among broader indices, down 0.54 per cent at 17,894.00. On the sectoral front, Nifty IT stood out as the top gainer, rising 1.90 per cent to 27,879.85 a sharp reversal from recent sessions of selling pressure while Nifty Auto added 0.48 per cent and Nifty FMCG gained 0.33 per cent. On the losing side, Nifty Metal fell 1.18 per cent to 13,402.25, Nifty India Defence declined 1.45 per cent, and Nifty Realty slipped 0.58 per cent.

Middle East Conflict

On the geopolitical front, the situation in the Middle East remained deeply fraught. A ship was reported seized by Iranian personnel off the coast of the UAE and steered toward Iranian waters on Thursday, even as the White House announced that Trump and Xi had agreed on the imperative of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. An Indian cargo vessel carrying livestock from Africa to the UAE was sunk on Wednesday in waters off Oman, with all 14 crew members rescued by the Omani coast guard. Diplomacy, however, remains effectively stalled, with both Iran and the US having rejected each other’s most recent proposals last week.

Asian & US Markets

Asian markets were broadly in the red on Friday morning, weighed down by the Hormuz disruption and lingering energy price anxiety. The Nikkei 225 fell 804.24 points or 1.28 per cent to 61,849.81, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 271.27 points or 1.03 per cent to 26,117.77. Indonesia’s JSX Composite was the sharpest loser among regional peers, falling 1.98 per cent to 6,723.32, and Malaysia’s KLCI slipped 0.52 per cent to 1,737.21. US markets, whose Thursday session is now closed, ended firmly higher on the day, buoyed by the Trump-Xi talks and hopes of a Hormuz resolution. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 370.26 points or 0.75 per cent to close at 50,063.46, the S&P 500 gained 56.99 points or 0.77 per cent to 7,501.24, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 232.88 points or 0.88 per cent to 26,635.22.

Oil Prices

Oil prices edged higher on Friday, with Brent crude rising 60 cents or 0.57 per cent to $106.32 a barrel by 0100 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate gained 54 cents or 0.53 per cent to $101.71. Concerns over vessel seizures and continued disruptions kept the risk premium elevated despite Iran’s claim that 30 vessels had crossed the Hormuz since Wednesday evening.

In a significant domestic development, the government raised petrol and diesel prices by ₹3 per litre each on Friday the first such hike in over four years as state-run fuel retailers buckled under mounting losses caused by elevated global crude oil prices. In Delhi, petrol now costs ₹97.77 per litre and diesel ₹90.67, while Mumbai consumers pay ₹106.68 for petrol and ₹93.14 for diesel. The hike is expected to directly affect household budgets, transportation costs, and the prices of everyday goods across the country.

Thursday Session

In Thursday’s domestic session, the Sensex surged 789.74 points or 1.06 per cent to close at 75,398.72, while the Nifty climbed 277 points or 1.18 per cent to settle at 23,689.60. The rally was broad-based, led by strong buying in banking, pharma, metal and infrastructure stocks, though IT shares which are rebounding sharply on Friday remained under pressure throughout Thursday’s session.

Sources: 

• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/live-market-indices
• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/top-gainers-losers
• bseindia.com
• https://www.reuters.com/world/china/iran-war-overshadows-trumps-china-visit-peace-talks-stall-2026-05-14/
• https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/oil-rises-fears-ship-attacks-seizures-persist-2026-05-15/
• https://www.reuters.com/markets/stocks/asia-pacific/