Markets Recover Sharply in Midday Trade; Sensex, Nifty Turn Flat After Early Selloff 

Mumbai, May 20: Domestic equity benchmarks staged a remarkable intraday recovery by midday on Wednesday, clawing back nearly all of the sharp losses seen at the open to trade virtually flat.

The BSE Sensex, which had tumbled nearly 488 points at the opening bell to 74,713.29, was trading at 75,204.49 — up just 3.64 points or a negligible 0.00% from its previous close of 75,200.85 — by 11:53 am. The NSE Nifty 50 mirrored the recovery, trading at 23,621 as of 11:56 am, up 3 points or 0.01% from its Tuesday close of 23,618, having recovered almost entirely from the intraday low of 23,397.30 touched in early trade. The swift reversal from the morning lows underscored the underlying resilience of the market, with dip-buyers stepping in aggressively across sectors as geopolitical fears were offset by bargain hunting in heavyweights.

Gainers & Losers

Among the Nifty 50 gainers at midday, Hindalco led the pack with its LTP at ₹1,087.80, up 3.77% from its previous close of ₹1,048.30, while Reliance Industries gained 1.82% to ₹1,346.80 from ₹1,322.70. Bajaj Auto rose 1.72% to ₹10,381 from ₹10,205, ONGC added 1.18% to ₹300 from ₹296.50, and Mahindra & Mahindra gained 1.06% to ₹3,125.10 from ₹3,092.30.

On the losing side, BEL led the declines, falling 2.73% to ₹411.40 from its previous close of ₹422.95, while Tata Steel slipped 2.30% to ₹204.47 from ₹209.29. Nestle India shed 1.22% to ₹1,414 from ₹1,431.40, Eternal fell 1.11% to ₹244.46 from ₹247.21, and Grasim Industries declined 1% to ₹2,905.90 from ₹2,935.20.

Broader & Sectoral Markets

In the broader market, the Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 0.24% to 17,820.15, while the Nifty Midcap 100 edged up 0.08% to 61,068.05 and the Nifty 500 was nearly flat at 22,524.35, up just 0.01%.

Sectoral performance tilted to the upside by midday: Nifty Oil and Gas was the standout, rising 1.17% to 11,311.25, while Nifty Auto advanced 0.82% to 25,909.30, Nifty IT gained 0.14% to 29,349.95 and Nifty Healthcare edged up 0.18% to 15,857.90 — the four sectors anchoring the broader intraday recovery.

Middle East Conflict

Geopolitical uncertainty continued to cast a shadow over global markets, with US President Donald Trump reiterating on Tuesday that he had been within an hour of ordering a fresh strike on Iran before standing down, and warning that an attack remained imminent if Tehran failed to seal a deal. The US Senate, meanwhile, advanced a war-powers resolution in a narrow 50-47 procedural vote to limit Trump’s ability to continue the conflict without Congressional authorisation — a rare bipartisan rebuke. Iran’s peace proposal, which includes demands for war reparations and a withdrawal of US troops, remains under discussion with no formal American response yet.

Oil Prices

Oil prices eased modestly in Asian trade on Wednesday after Trump expressed confidence that the Iran war would end quickly, though markets remained cautious given the daily shifts in the US negotiating stance. Brent crude slipped 0.4% to $110.83 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate fell 0.3% to $103.88, with both benchmarks having already lost nearly a dollar on Tuesday on signals of diplomatic progress. Analysts, however, cautioned that even a peace deal may not swiftly restore crude supply to pre-war levels, keeping oil prices structurally elevated for the foreseeable future.

Asian Markets

Asian markets were broadly in the red during Wednesday’s session, with the Nikkei 225 declining 1.14% to 59,858.28 and the Hang Seng Index falling 0.63% to 25,635.33. The S&P ASX All Ordinaries Index dropped 1.27% to 8,717, while the HNX 30 Index in Vietnam slid 1.83% to 526.38. Indonesia’s JSX Composite was the worst performer among the region’s major indices, tumbling 3.46% to 6,370.68, reflecting acute sensitivity to oil price movements given the country’s net energy import position. Thailand’s SET Index was a lone bright spot, gaining 0.74% to 1,527.94.

Morning Session

Indian markets had opened sharply lower on Wednesday morning, with the Sensex gapping down nearly 488 points to 74,713.29 and the Nifty sliding 162 points to 23,455.80 at the opening bell, as Trump’s threat of imminent fresh strikes on Iran roiled overnight global sentiment. Tata Steel, BEL and Mahindra & Mahindra were the hardest hit at the open, while IT and pharma stocks provided the only meaningful support. The swift recovery through the morning session, however, suggested that investors were quick to distinguish between near-term geopolitical noise and the underlying earnings momentum that has kept Indian equities resilient through weeks of conflict-driven volatility.

Source:

• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/live-market-indices
• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/top-gainers-losers