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Key gauges end marginally lower on Tuesday
May-19-2026

Indian equity benchmarks pared all intraday gains and ended marginally lower on Tuesday due to fag-end selling in Metal, banking and Telecom stocks, as concerns rose over the rupee hitting a new record low against the US dollar. Elevated global crude prices amid geopolitical uncertainties also impacted market sentiment. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

ICRA lowers India’s GDP growth estimate to 6.2% for FY27 amid elevated crude oil prices: Citing elevated crude oil prices driven by the ongoing West Asia crisis, rating agency ICRA has lowered India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth estimate (at constant 2022-23 prices) to 6.2% for fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) from the earlier estimate of 6.5%. 

Piyush Goyal calls for domestic manufacturing boost to reduce import dependence: With an aim of reducing import dependence, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has asked the industry to identify imported goods and explore opportunities to manufacture them domestically. 

India should invest at least 2% of GDP to strengthen R&D ecosystem: The Niti Aayog in its report has said that India should significantly enhance its investment in research and development from the current level of 0.64% to at least 2% of GDP in the next four to five years to strengthen the country's R&D ecosystem. 

India’s oil trade deficit likely to widen sharply in FY27 amid rising imports: Crisil in its latest report has said that rising crude prices, weakening petroleum exports and heavy dependence on imported oil are likely to push India’s oil trade deficit higher in FY27, straining external balances.

Global front: European markets were trading higher after U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a temporary pause in strike against Iran raised hopes of a potential deal between the two warring nations.  Asian markets closed mixed as technology heavyweights tracked overnight declines in their U.S. peers. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 114.19 points or 0.15% to 75,200.85 and the CNX Nifty was down by 31.95 points or 0.14% to 23,618.00.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 75,746.27 and 75,115.99, respectively. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.22%, TECK up by 1.76%, Realty up by 1.35%, Utilities up by 0.67% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.60%, while Metal down by 0.26%, Bankex down by 0.21%, Telecom down by 0.21%, Capital Goods down by 0.13% and Consumer Durables down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 4.77%, HCL Technologies up by 2.73%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.55%, Eternal up by 2.40% and TCS up by 1.90%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.51%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.69%, Titan Company down by 1.63%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.37% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, citing elevated crude oil prices driven by the ongoing West Asia crisis, rating agency ICRA has lowered India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth estimate (at constant 2022-23 prices) to 6.2% for fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) from the earlier estimate of 6.5%. As per the rating agency, crude oil prices to average at $95/bbl in FY27, against its prior estimate of $85/bbl, given the ongoing stickiness in prices amid the stalemate in West Asia. 

Besides, the rating agency has estimated GDP growth at 7.5% for FY26, marginally lower than the National Statistical Office's (NSO) Second Advance Estimate (SAE) of 7.6% for FY26. It also said GDP growth in Q4FY26 is likely to ease to a three-quarter low of 7% from 7.8% in Q3FY26. It noted that a slower expansion across the industrial and services sectors is likely to have moderated GDP growth between these quarters, even as the performance of the agriculture sector is likely to have improved slightly.

However, it said a slower rise in manufacturing volumes, contraction in exports, and nascent signs of margin pressure amid the West Asia fallout may have weighed on the industrial gross value added (GVA) growth performance in the quarter. Meanwhile, slowing global growth and shipping disruptions triggered by the West Asia conflict weighed on India's merchandise exports in the March quarter of FY26, which fell by 2.8% on a Y-o-Y basis, after a modest 1.4% rise in the December quarter.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 23,782.30 and 23,587.20, respectively. There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 4.51%, HCL Technologies up by 2.91%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.59%, Tata Motors Passenger up by 2.08% and TCS up by 2.05%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.40%, Titan Company down by 1.79%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.78%, Tata Consumer Product down by 1.62% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.40% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 70.07 points or 0.68% to 10,393.82, France’s CAC rose 74.01 points or 0.93% to 8,061.50 and Germany’s DAX gained 288.28 points or 1.19% to 24,596.20.

Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday as technology heavyweights tracked overnight declines in their US peers amid concerns over spiking US Treasury yields. Besides, Japanese shares declined despite faster-than-expected Q1 economic growth. Japan's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.5% on quarter in the first quarter of 2026. That beat expectations for a gain of 0.4% and was up from the downwardly revised 0.2% increase in the three months prior (originally 0.3%). However, Chinese and Hong Kong market rose as global crude oil prices fell on prospects of a potential US-Iran peace deal that could soothe concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East. Tehran reportedly sent a new peace proposal via Pakistan and US President Donald Trump said he has postponed a planned attack on Iran at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Trump noted that serious negotiations are underway to end the war.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,169.54

38.01

0.92

Hang Seng

25,797.85

122.67

0.48

Jakarta Composite

6,370.68

-228.56

-3.59

KLSE Composite

1,727.27

-0.44

-0.03

Nikkei 225

60,550.59

-265.36

-0.44

Straits Times

5,072.34

75.59

1.51

KOSPI Composite

7,271.66

-244.38

-3.25

Taiwan Weighted

40,175.56

-716.26

-1.75
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