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Key gauges end marginally higher on fag-end buying
May-20-2026

Indian equity benchmarks recovered all intraday losses and ended marginally higher on Wednesday on fag-end buying in Power, Capital Goods and Energy stocks. However, gains remain capped as persistent rupee weakness and elevated crude prices continued to weigh on sentiment due to concerns around inflation and margin pressures. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

Indian businesses should transform global uncertainties into growth prospects: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that Indian businesses should transform the current global economic uncertainties into growth prospects and avoid panicking over the situation. 

India-EU FTA to help attract investments, boost auto manufacturing in India: Additional Secretary in the commerce ministry Darpan Jain has said that the India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will help attract more investments into India and will result in more manufacturing of automobiles in India and exporting to third countries. 

UN revises India’s economic growth forecast downward to 6.4% for 2026 amid global uncertainties: Citing global uncertainties and economic shocks arising from the ongoing West Asia crisis, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has revised its economic growth forecast for India downward to 6.4% for 2026 from its earlier projection of 6.6%, highlighting the impact of higher energy import costs and tighter financial conditions. 

Agriculture Minister urges farmers to adopt organic farming amid challenges in procuring fertilisers: Acknowledging challenges in procuring fertilisers from the international market, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged states and farmers to increasingly adopt organic farming as an alternative amid supply disruptions triggered by the West Asia crisis.

Global front: European markets were trading higher even as data from Eurostat showed Eurozone inflation accelerated in April, as initially estimated, driven by higher energy prices. Asian markets settled lower as oil prices remained elevated on Hormuz concerns and global bond yields hit multi-year highs, raising concerns about inflation, interest rates and economic growth 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 117.54 points or 0.16% to 75,318.39 and the CNX Nifty was up by 41.00 points or 0.17% to 23,659.00.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 75,406.18 and 74,529.41, respectively. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.78%, Capital Goods up by 1.52%, Energy up by 1.45%, Oil & Gas up by 1.37% and Industrials up by 0.91%, while FMCG down by 0.63%, TECK down by 0.25%, IT down by 0.24% and Consumer Durables down by 0.15% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.83%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.33%, Trent up by 1.02%, Interglobe Aviation up by 0.99% and Axis Bank up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 2.30%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.85%, Eternal down by 1.52%, Tata Steel down by 1.08% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, citing global uncertainties and economic shocks arising from the ongoing West Asia crisis, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has revised its economic growth forecast for India downward to 6.4% for 2026 from its earlier projection of 6.6%, highlighting the impact of higher energy import costs and tighter financial conditions. The report added that the country could grow at 6.6% in 2027. It also noted that India remains one of the fastest-growing major economies.

It said West Asia crisis has delivered yet another shock to the global economy, slowing growth, reigniting inflationary pressures and heightening uncertainty. UN DESA’s Ingo Pitterle pointed out that the West Asia ‘shock’ for all countries is having a dual impact on growth - it is lowering growth while at the same time pushing up inflation, and in doing so it is constraining the policy space. 

He said ‘India has experienced structurally strong and resilient growth, fueled by consumer demand, public investment, and a robust performance in services exports. These key drivers are expected to remain largely intact, ensuring that India continues to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.’ The report further projects Global GDP growth at 2.5% in 2026, 0.2 percentage points below the January projection and well below pre-pandemic norms.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 23,690.90 and 23,397.30, respectively. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.50%, Reliance Industries up by 2.84%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.52%, Grasim Industries up by 1.63% and Trent up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 2.27%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.92%, Eternal down by 1.50%, Tata Steel down by 1.09% and SBI Life Insurance Company down by 1.08% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 8.21 points or 0.08% to 10,338.76, France’s CAC rose 57.54 points or 0.72% to 8,039.30 and Germany’s DAX gained 90.95 points or 0.37% to 24,491.60.

Asian markets settled lower on Wednesday tracking Wall Street’s fall overnight as rising inflation risks and geopolitical tensions lifted the 30-year US Treasury bond yield to its highest in nearly two decades and the 10-year yield to its highest level in more than a year. Moreover, traders fretted over a renewed escalation in the Middle East after US President Trump claimed the United States was just an hour away from launching a fresh military strike on Iran before postponing it at the request of Gulf leaders. Chinese shares dipped after the country's central bank -- People's Bank of China left benchmark lending rates unchanged for the 12th consecutive month in May, leaving the one-year loan prime rate at 3.0% and the five-year LPR at 3.5%. Japanese shares declined sharply as the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond held at its highest level since 1997 on BoJ interest rate hike expectations.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,162.18

-7.35

-0.18

Hang Seng

25,651.12

-146.73

-0.57

Jakarta Composite

6,318.50

-52.18

-0.83

KLSE Composite

1,717.69

-9.58

-0.55

Nikkei 225

59,804.41

-746.18

-1.23

Straits Times

5,044.91

-27.43

-0.54

KOSPI Composite

7,208.95

-62.71

-0.86

Taiwan Weighted

40,020.82

-154.74

-0.39
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