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Informist, Tuesday, May 19, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – Headline stock indices are expected to be range-bound on Tuesday with the positive bias likely to remain. US President Donald Trump said he had postponed a planned attack on Iran, which paved the way for optimism in the equity market. Reacting to this news, crude oil prices eased a little and fell below $110 a barrel after breaching the level on Monday. The new developments on the global front are expected to have an impact on foreign investment flow, rupee levels, and oil prices, which will decide market sentiment.

Trump said he has postponed a planned attack on Iran at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, and added that "serious negotiations are now taking place," Al Jazeera reported. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said "dialogue does not mean surrender", and that Tehran had entered the "dialogue with dignity, authority, and the preservation of the nation's rights," the report said.

"I put it off for a little while, hopefully maybe forever, but possibly for a little while" because "we've had very big discussions with Iran, and we'll see what they amount to," CNBC reported, quoting Trump. Trump had planned to resume military operations as Tehran's latest response was seen as insufficient in ongoing negotiations over a deal to end the war, CNBC reported based on an Axios report.

Meanwhile, Israel continued its attacks on Lebanon with at least seven people reportedly killed, according to Al Jazeera. The attack took place despite a "ceasefire" extension agreed upon between Lebanese and Israeli officials. At least 3,020 people have been killed and 9,273 injured in Israel's bombardment so far, Al Jazeera reported, citing Lebanon's health ministry.

In another development, the US treasury is issuing a 30-day general licence temporarily, which will allow most vulnerable nations to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant posted on his 'X' account. "This extension will provide additional flexibility, and we will work with these nations to provide specific licenses as needed," as per the post.

At 0734 IST, the Brent crude oil July futures contract was down over 2% at $109.42 a barrel, against its previous close. The futures contract of crude oil fell after rising for the previous three sessions. In the last seven days, crude oil July futures have gained over 8%.

"For today's session, the 23,500 level will continue to act as an immediate support zone," Sundar Kewat, technical and derivatives analyst at Ashika Group, said. "On the upside, 23,800 remains a key resistance level, where the index may face difficulty in sustaining higher levels, as this zone has previously acted as a strong hurdle for the market." On Monday, the Nifty 50 settled at 23649.95, up 6.45 points. The BSE Sensex ended at 75315.04, up 77.05 points or 0.1%.

At 0811 IST, the May futures contract of the GIFT Nifty was at 23649.50, 0.3% lower than its previous close. This was marginally lower than the Nifty 50's previous close of 23649.95.

On Tuesday, Indian Oil Corp. hiked the retail price of petrol in Delhi to INR 98.64 per litre from INR 97.77 per litre. The retail price of diesel was raised to INR 91.58 per litre from INR 90.67 per litre. Indian Oil Corp. reported a nearly 57% on-year rise in its net profit for the March quarter at INR 113.78 billion. This was way above analysts' expectations of INR 72.48 billion. Its top line for the quarter grew 7% on year to INR 2.33 trillion, which was below the Street's view of INR 2.44 trillion. The company's domestic sales for Jan-Mar were INR 26.07 million tonnes and was higher than the 24.60 million tonnes recorded in the year-ago quarter.

Oil marketing companies have absorbed mounting losses for as long as fiscally tenable, according to Manoranjan Sharma, chief economist at Infomerics Ratings. "With Brent crude sustaining above $100 a barrel, that buffer is exhausted," he said. "Expect gradual, staggered increases rather than sudden sharp hikes — the government's preferred approach to managing public backlash."

Foreign and domestic investors cushioned the Indian equity market Monday, buying shares worth INR 28.14 billion and INR 26.82 billion, respectively. 

Bharat Electronics will detail its March quarter earnings on Tuesday. The company is likely to report a moderate year-on-year rise in its top line and almost flat growth in the bottom line. Its net profit is estimated at INR 21.06 billion, flat on year but up 31% on quarter. The company's top line is seen at INR 98.31 billion, up nearly 8% on year and 38% on quarter.

Asian equity indices showed a mixed performance in early trade. South Korea's Kospi shed 4.5%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index gained nearly 1%. Barring the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the other two major US indices closed lower on Monday.  End

US$1 = INR 96.345

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

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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