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Informist, Monday, May 18, 2026

 

By Arundathi A R

 

MUMBAI – Headline stock indices were highly volatile toward the close but ended marginally higher. After opening sharply lower due to higher crude oil prices and renewed concerns over the US-Iran deal, the market recovered from its lows as investors appeared to shrug off the negative cues, Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said.

 

The Nifty 50 settled at 23649.95, up 6.45 points, and the BSE Sensex ended at 75315.04, up 77.05 points or 0.1%.

 

US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Iran that the "clock is ticking" for a peace deal with Washington. There won't be anything left of Iran unless it agrees to a deal, he said. At 1540 IST, Brent crude oil July futures were nearly 1% higher at $110.01 a barrel. 

 

Broader market indices, however, fell during the session, with all small-cap indices ending over 1% lower. Mid-cap indices ended the session marginally lower. Most sectoral indices ended the session lower, with the Nifty Media index the biggest drag, shedding 2.2%. India VIX indicated rising investor nervousness, as the volatility index settled 4.5% higher at 19.6300.

 

Fewer than half of the Nifty 50 constituents ended the session in the green. Information technology stocks gained the most, with Tech Mahindra being the top gainer. The stock ended the session 4.3% higher. It was followed by Infosys, which closed 2.1% higher. HCL Technologies, Wipro, and Tata Consultancy Services ended 0.9–1.2% higher.

 

Persistent Systems, Coforge, and Oracle Financial Services Software were the top gainers in the Nifty 200, settling 4.4-5.2% higher.

 

Bharti Airtel was one of the biggest gainers in the 50-stock index. According to a CNBCTV-18 report, Bharti Airtel surpassed HDFC Bank on Monday to become the second-most valuable company in India by market capitalisation. 

 

Gland Pharma and Great Eastern Shipping Co. rose 15.4% and 10.6%, respectively, leading the gains on the Nifty 500 index. Both companies reported strong earnings for the March quarter.

 

Premier Energies ended 0.5% higher after the company reported higher-than-expected earnings for the March quarter. The company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 4.57 billion for the quarter, sharply up from the analysts' estimate of INR 3.89 billion. 

 

Automobile majors dragged down the Nifty 50 index. Maruti Suzuki India, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles ended 1.0–1.7% lower. The hike in retail fuel prices weighed on sentiment. Analysts said the hike in fuel prices could dampen the demand in the sector. The Nifty Auto index closed 1.7% lower, after settling higher in the previous two sessions.

 

Among individual stocks, Tata Steel was the biggest laggard in the 50-stock index, which closed 3.3% lower. The stock continued to fall for the second session after the company's net profit missed the Street's view. The company's consolidated net profit for the quarter was INR 29.26 billion, up nearly 125% on year. This was slightly below the analysts' estimate of INR 30.98 billion.

 

Power Grid Corp. of India was one of the worst-hit Nifty 50 constituents, closing 3% lower. The stock fell after the company reported a year-on-year fall in its sales for the March quarter. The power transmission company posted a 9% on-year fall in its revenue for the quarter to INR 99.71 billion.

 

TVS Motor Co., Cochin Shipyard, and Godfrey Phillips India were among the biggest drags on the Nifty 200 index, falling 4.5-5.1%. Shares of Cochin Shipyard ended 5.1% lower after the company's net profit fell 24% on year and sales declined 27% in the March quarter. 

 

Godfrey Phillips ended nearly 4.5% lower despite the company's net profit doubling on-year in the March quarter. The stock fell after the company's management said the coming year appeared to be challenging due to the tax hike on cigarettes.

 

Amber Enterprises India ended 15.6% lower and was one of the biggest losers in the Nifty 500 index. The company's net profit and sales in the March quarter marginally missed analysts' estimates. KEC International fell 11.1?ter reporting poor earnings for the March quarter. The company's consolidated net profit fell by over 28% on-year to INR 1.93 billion. Its revenue for the quarter fell 7% on year to INR 63.90 billion.

 

Shares of Afcons Infrastructure ended 5.6% lower after the company said that Croatian Motorways has cancelled its bid for two road construction projects in Croatia, with a combined estimated value of INR 45.35 billion.

 

Power Finance Corp. and REC settled in the negative territory for the second straight session. Power Finance said its board has approved submitting the merger of REC with PFC before the President of India for approval. The stocks ended about 3.5% lower each.

 

HDFC Asset Management Co. fell 2.9?ter the company informed bourses that its systems faced a cybersecurity incident on Saturday, and it received a message from an unknown source that claimed to have gained access to certain parts of its information technology infrastructure.

 

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. settled 3.8?ter its promoter, Prudential Corp. Holdings, decided to bring down its stake in the company to 10%. The divestment is part of the regulatory approvals for Prudential's 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance Co.

 

Shares of SJVN ended 5.5% lower. The company's bottom-line growth for Jan-Mar was muted, according to analysts, due to higher finance costs.

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 23 rose, 27 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 18 rose, 12 fell

* On the NSE, 941 stocks rose, 2,382 fell, and 92 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 1,264 stocks rose, 3,034 fell, and 205 were unchanged
* Nifty Media: down 2.2%; Nifty PSU Bank: down 1.9%; Nifty IT: up 2.4%

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BSE                                             NSE

Sensex: 75315.04, up 77.05 points or 0.1%      Nifty 50: 23649.95, up 6.45 points

 

S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 86159.02 (Dec. 1, 2025)	: Lifetime High: 26373.20 (Jan. 5, 2026)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	: Record Close High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2, 2026)
2026 1st day close: 85188.60 (Jan. 1)	: 2026 1st day close: 26146.55 (Jan. 1)
2026 Closing High: 85762.01 (Jan. 2)	: 2026 Closing High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2)
2026 Closing Low: 71947.55 (Mar. 30)	: 2026 Closing Low: 22331.40 (Mar. 30)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	: 2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 71545.81 (Apr. 1)	: 2026 Low (intraday): 22182.55 (Apr.2)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	: 2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 85720.38 (Nov. 27)	: 2025 Closing High: 26215.55 (Nov. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	: 2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 86159.02 (Dec. 1)	: 2025 High (intraday): 26325.80 (Dec.1)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	: 2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	: 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	: 2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	: 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	: 2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	: 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	: 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	: 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	: 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	: 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	: 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	: 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	: 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	: 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	: 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	: 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	: 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 96.3450

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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