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Informist, Friday, May 8, 2026

 

By Arya S. Biju

MUMBAI – Headline equity indices closed lower for the second straight session as oil prices rose again after the US and Iran exchanged military strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, further threatening an already fragile ceasefire and denting hopes of a resolution to the West Asia war. Broader market indices, on the other hand, continued to outperform their benchmark peers and closed on a mixed note. 

 

The Nifty 50 index settled at 24176.15, down 150.50 points or 0.6%. The BSE Sensex closed at 77328.19, down 516.33 points or 0.7%. While a sharp fall in banking and financial services stocks dragged the 50-stock index down, gains in information technology and select consumer stocks helped limit the extent of the fall. On a weekly basis, the indices rose 0.5-0.7%, extending gains for the second straight week.  

 

The July futures contract of Brent Crude oil on the Intercontinental Exchange rose around 3% to a high of $102.9 per barrel Friday. At 1535 IST, the contract was slightly off highs at $100.82 per barrel. Oil prices rose after the US and Iran Thursday exchanged fire in the key Strait of Hormuz waterway, with each side claiming the other initiated the attack.

 

The US military said it intercepted the "unprovoked" Iranian attacks as US ships were heading out of the Gulf through the strait, which is south of Iran, according to media reports. Meanwhile, Iran's military accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting its ships, including an oil tanker, that were moving towards the Strait of Hormuz, the BBC reported, citing the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. However, US President Donald Trump said the Iranian strikes were "just a love tap", adding that the ceasefire was still in place. 

 

In the broader market, small-cap indices ended 0.1-0.2% higher, while mid-cap indices closed on a mixed note. The Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed 0.1% lower, while Nifty Midcap 50 ended 0.1% higher.

 

Among sectoral indices, except the Nifty IT, Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Healthcare, and Nifty Media, all others closed the session in the red. The Nifty PSU Bank took the worst hit, falling over 3% to 8371.95 points, followed by the Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services, which fell over 1?ch.

 

Shares of State Bank of India declined nearly 7%, and the stock was the worst hit Nifty 50 constituent after the bank reported a lower than expected net interest income for the March quarter. The public sector lender reported a net interest income of INR 443.80 billion for the March quarter, up 4.1% on year, but way below the INR 466.46 billion estimated by the Street. The rise in net interest income was offset by poor treasury income, which fell to INR 12.59 billion in Jan-Mar from ‌INR 89.91 billion a year ago. The bank's margins also took a hit in the March quarter, with the domestic net interest margin moderating to 2.93% from 3.11% in the December quarter. The bank's consolidated net profit rose 5.6% on year to INR 196.84 billion, beating analysts' estimate of INR 193.98 billion. Despite exceeding expectations, the bank's net profit growth was the slowest in four quarters. 

Among other laggards, shares of Coal India fell over 2%, extending losses for the fifth straight session. Global brokerage CLSA downgraded the stock to 'underperform' from 'hold', and cut the target price over 1% to INR 385, CNBC TV18 reported. On Thursday, several media reports had said that the government is likely to divest 3-4% stake in the company worth INR 100 billion through an offer for sale. 

 

Britannia Industries fell over 5% and was among the worst hit in the Nifty 200 index on heightened worries about a margin hit from higher input costs owing to the Iran war. The company's management, in a post-earnings conference call Friday, said it would take calibrated price hikes from the June quarter, citing a significant increase in freight costs linked to the West Asia conflict. The company, which detailed its March quarter earnings post market hours Thursday, also saw its revenue falling short of the Street's estimate. 

 

Shares of Titan Co., on the other hand, closed nearly 5% higher. The stock was the top gainer in the Nifty 50 index after the jewellery and watch company reported a strong set of numbers for the March quarter, with net profit rising over 29% on year to INR 11.24 billion and net sales jumping 78% to INR 239.34 billion. 

 

Shares OnEMI Technology Solutions closed over 22% higher after they listed at an 11% premium to the issue price on the National Stock Exchange. The initial public offer of the company closed Tuesday was subscribed 9.5 times, with bids placed for around 377.67 million shares against the 39.76 million shares on offer. The company operates digital lending platform Kissht, which primarily offers digital loans through its mobile application for various consumption and business needs. 

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 21 rose and 29 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 12 rose, 16 fell, and 2 were unchanged

* On the NSE, 1,501 stocks rose, 1,783 fell, and 101 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,068 stocks rose, 2,148 fell, and 190 were unchanged
* Nifty PSU Bank: down 3.1%; Nifty Financial Services: down 1.7%; Nifty IT: up 1.2%

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BSE                                                NSE

Sensex: 77328.19, down 516.33 points or 0.7%       Nifty 50: 24176.15, down 150.50 points or 0.6%

 

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 94.48

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

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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