Markets Slip Into Red at Midday; Sensex Sheds 114 points After Strong Morning Open 

Mumbai, May 21: Domestic equity benchmarks surrendered their early gains by midday on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex slipping 114.64 points or 0.15% to 75,203.75 and the NSE Nifty 50 barely holding on at 23,670.15, up just 11.15 points or 0.05% from its previous close of 23,659, as of 12:34 pm.

The morning’s optimism which had seen the Sensex open nearly 370 points higher on Trump’s softer tone on Iran faded steadily through the late morning as selling pressure emerged in financial services, FMCG and IT stocks, offsetting gains in defence, healthcare and auto counters. The benchmarks have now retraced the bulk of the day’s early advance, with the market effectively flat-to-negative as investors take stock of a geopolitical situation that remains unresolved despite the temporary diplomatic breathing room.

Gainers & Losers

Among Nifty 50 gainers at midday, Grasim Industries led with an LTP of ₹3,109.50, up 4.66% from its previous close of ₹2,971.10, while IndiGo surged 3.75% to ₹4,424.40 from ₹4,264.60. Apollo Hospitals gained 2.98% to ₹8,319 from ₹8,078.50, Max Healthcare rose 2.29% to ₹1,100.30 from ₹1,075.70, and Bajaj Auto added 2.01% to ₹10,673 from ₹10,462.50.

On the losing side, Bajaj Finance led declines, falling 1.87% to ₹905.85 from its previous close of ₹923.10, while Bajaj Finserv slipped 1.24% to ₹1,750.10 from ₹1,772. Tech Mahindra declined 1.15% to ₹1,422.40 from ₹1,439, Tata Consumer Products fell 1.11% to ₹1,195.30 from ₹1,208.70, and Hindustan Unilever shed 1.07% to ₹2,185.60 from ₹2,209.30.

Broader & Sectoral Markets

In the broader market, the Nifty Smallcap 250 was the strongest performer, up 0.67% to 16,789.55, while the Nifty Microcap 250 gained 0.78% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.52% to 17,964.40 suggesting that the midcap and smallcap segments were holding up better than large-caps.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Realty was the top gainer, advancing 0.81% to 773.25, followed by Nifty Healthcare at +0.37% to 15,909.05, Nifty PSU Bank at +0.29% to 7,994.05, and Nifty Auto at +0.21% to 25,969.15. On the other hand, Nifty IT was the biggest sectoral laggard, down 0.53% to 29,029.35, while Nifty FMCG fell 0.40% and Nifty Bank slipped 0.22%.

Geopolitical uncertainty continued to overhang global markets, with Trump’s declaration that the US was “right on the borderline” of resuming strikes on Iran keeping investors cautious even as his wait-and-see posture provided short-term relief. Iran’s latest peace proposal demanding Strait of Hormuz control, war reparations, sanctions removal and troop withdrawal largely repeats terms previously rejected by Washington, leaving little room for optimism. Pakistan’s interior minister continued his mediation role in Tehran on Wednesday, with messages still being exchanged between the two sides through his channel.

Oil prices rebounded on Thursday after two sessions of sharp losses, with Brent crude rising 0.77% to $105.83 a barrel and WTI advancing 0.99% to $99.23, as supply concerns resurfaced. Both benchmarks had dropped more than 5.6% on Wednesday after Trump flagged that Iran talks were in their final stages, but the rebound reflects lingering doubts about whether a deal is truly close particularly after Iran announced a new “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” entrenching its control over the Strait of Hormuz. A draw in US crude inventories added further upward pressure, raising concerns about global stockpile depletion.

Asian markets were broadly positive on Thursday morning, with the Nikkei 225 leading the regional recovery with a 3.53% surge to 61,917.72 on relief over Trump’s measured tone. The S&P ASX All Ordinaries rose 1.69% to 8,864.10, the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.19% to 4,170.13, and the Hang Seng gained a modest 0.04% to 25,661.06. However, Indonesia’s JSX Composite fell 0.82% to 6,318.50 and Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa KLCI slipped 0.51%, reflecting Southeast Asia’s greater sensitivity to oil price volatility and trade disruption from the Strait closure.

Indian markets had opened strongly on Thursday morning, with the Sensex gapping up 370 points to 75,688.37 and the Nifty rising 128 points to 23,787.25, as positive cues from a resurgent Wall Street where the Dow Jones surged 1.31% to 50,009.35 and the NASDAQ jumped 1.54% to 26,270.36 lifted sentiment at the open. The early buying was broad-based, with defence, auto and metal stocks leading the charge, and India VIX declining 3.30% to 17.83, signalling a meaningful easing of near-term volatility fears. However, the rally proved short-lived as selling emerged in financial and consumption stocks through the late morning, dragging the indices back to near-flat levels by midday.

Source:

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