Sensex Surges 550 pts at Open; IndiGo, Shriram Finance Among Gainers 

Mumbai, May 6: Indian equity markets opened on a strong note on Wednesday morning, tracking a wave of optimism that swept through global markets after US President Donald Trump announced he would pause an operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, signalling that a peace deal with Iran may be close.

The BSE Sensex surged 548.34 points or 0.71% to 77,566.13 in early trade as of 9:16 am, while the Nifty 50 climbed 176.15 points or 0.73% to 24,208.95 at 9:17 am, building decisively on Tuesday’s battered close and reclaiming ground lost during the previous session’s volatile trade. The gap-up opening, foreshadowed by Gift Nifty futures trading at 24,277 before the market open, reflected a broad-based return of risk appetite as crude oil prices fell for a second consecutive session and Asian peers traded firmly in positive territory.

Early Movers: Gainers and Losers

Among the top gainers in early trade on the Nifty 50, IndiGo led the pack with a gain of 2.31% to ₹4,336.3, followed by Shriram Finance which advanced 1.94% to ₹983.1, while Bajaj Finance rose 1.78% to ₹975.7 and M&M climbed 1.56% to ₹3,260.8. On the other side of the ledger, Larsen & Toubro was the sharpest decliner in early trade, falling 3.10% to ₹3,928.7, with ONGC easing 0.55% to ₹288.35, Hindustan Unilever slipping 0.20% to ₹2,322.7, and Power Grid edging lower by 0.13% to ₹319.05.

Broad Market Indices

Broader market indices mirrored the buoyant mood at the open, with the Nifty Midcap Select advancing 1.24% to 14,122.55 and the Nifty Next 50 gaining 0.86% to 71,237.75, both outpacing the benchmark Nifty 50’s 0.73% rise. On the downside within the broader market universe, the Nifty 50 TR 1X Inverse — a strategy index that moves opposite to the benchmark — dipped 0.70%, while the India VIX, the market’s fear gauge, fell sharply by 4.20% to 17.16, signalling a meaningful easing of near-term volatility expectations as sentiment turned more constructive.

Sectoral Indices

Sectoral indices were broadly in the green in early trade, with the Nifty PSU Bank index leading the charge with a gain of 2.01% to 8,608.50, and the Nifty Auto index advancing 1.51% to 26,587.70 on the back of buying in vehicle manufacturers and ancillaries. Among the underperformers, the Nifty FMCG index was the laggard, rising a muted 0.34% to 51,767.65, while the Nifty Energy index barely moved, adding just 0.09% to 41,028.55 as oil and gas stocks remained subdued amid falling global crude prices.

Middle East: Hormuz Update

US President Donald Trump announced late Tuesday that he would briefly pause “Project Freedom” — the American operation to escort stranded tankers through the Strait of Hormuz — citing “great progress” toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran. Trump wrote on social media that both sides had mutually agreed the blockade would remain in force but the escort operation would be halted to allow a potential deal to be finalised and signed. The Strait has been virtually shut since the conflict began, blocking roughly 20% of global oil supplies and triggering a sweeping energy crisis across major importing nations including India.

Asian Markets

Asian markets were broadly higher on Wednesday morning as the diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East buoyed risk sentiment across the region, with Australia’s S&P ASX All Ordinaries leading gains at +1.15% to 9,005.50, Indonesia’s JSX Composite rising 1.22%, and Shanghai’s SE Composite climbing 1.10% to 4,157.25. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.38% to 59,513.12, while Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.60%, the Philippine PSEI advanced 0.73%, and Malaysia’s KLCI and Pakistan’s KSE 100 also traded in positive territory. The only regional outlier was Vietnam’s HNX 30, which dipped 0.47%, while Thailand’s SET was trading higher without a confirmed point change.

US Markets

All major Wall Street indices ended firmly in the green on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite posting the strongest gain among the big three at +1.03% to 25,326.13, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.81% to 7,259.22 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.73% to 49,298.25. The NYSE Composite also closed up 0.50% to 23,008.67, though Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite bucked the trend with a modest decline of 0.21%.

Oil Prices

Crude oil prices extended their decline on Wednesday for a second consecutive session, as expectations grew that supply bottled up in the Middle East could soon resume flowing following Trump’s diplomatic signals. Brent crude futures for July fell $1.52 or 1.38% to $108.35 per barrel in early Asian trade, after tumbling 4% in the previous session, while US West Texas Intermediate futures for June declined $1.50 or 1.47% to $100.77 per barrel. Earlier on Tuesday, US crude had broken below the closely watched $100-per-barrel threshold following Trump’s social media post — a psychologically significant level given that energy prices had soared well above it since the conflict erupted two months ago.

Rupee

The Indian rupee weakened to a record low of 95.4325 per dollar on Tuesday, falling as much as 0.4% on the day before paring losses to close at 95.28, as a fragile truce in the Middle East came under fresh strain after the US and Iran launched new attacks to wrestle control of the Strait of Hormuz. State-run banks were spotted selling dollars near the record low, widely interpreted by traders as Reserve Bank of India intervention aimed at preventing the currency from breaching the key psychological level of 95.50.

Tuesday’s Close

Indian equity benchmarks ended on a weaker note in a volatile session on Tuesday, with the Sensex declining 251.6 points or 0.33% to 77,017.8 and the Nifty 50 falling 86 points or 0.36% to settle at 24,033, just managing to hold above the psychologically critical 24,000 mark despite persistent selling pressure linked to elevated crude oil prices and negative global cues. The Nifty had briefly dipped below 24,000 in early trade before recovering, with the decline led by banking and rate-sensitive stocks as rising crude stoked inflationary concerns and dragged on broader sentiment. Market breadth was slightly negative, with approximately 1,890 shares advancing against 2,110 declining and 169 remaining unchanged on the exchange.

Sources:

• bseindia.com
• nseindia.com
• https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/middle-east-truce-doubt-us-iran-fight-control-strait-hormuz-2026-05-05/
• https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-little-changed-ceasefire-holds-us-crude-stocks-fall-2026-05-05/