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EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
May-21-2026

Indian equity benchmarks erased early gains to close marginally lower on Thursday, weighed down by losses in financial, IT and FMCG stocks. The markets opened gap-up amid rising optimism over a potential peace agreement between the US and Iran. However, indices turned volatile in the afternoon session and eventually settled lower due to persistent selling pressure from foreign institutional investors.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Foreign fund outflows: Sentiments remained downbeat amid foreign fund outflows. As per NSE data, foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 1,597.35 crore on Wednesday.

Eight core infrastructure sectors rose 1.7% in April: Traders overlooked the government data showed that production growth in eight core infrastructure sectors rose 1.7% in April, driven by higher output of steel, cement and electricity, from 1% in the same month last year and 1.2% in March. 

India Manufacturing PMI growth eases marginally in May 2026: Traders took note of the HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI eased from final reading of 54.7 in April to 54.3 in May, while HSBC Flash India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 58.9 in May from April’s final reading of 58.8.

On the global front: European markets were trading higher as traders monitored peace talks between the United States and Iran. Asian markets closed mostly in green after Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 301.9 billion yen in April. That blew away forecasts for a deficit of 29.7 billion yen following the 643.0 billion yen surplus in March.

The BSE Sensex ended at 75183.36, down by 135.03 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 74996.78 and 75945.79. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.29%, Industrials up by 1.08%, Realty up by 1.06%, Basic Materials up by 0.91% and Telecom up by 0.80%, while TECK down by 0.62%, IT down by 0.53%, Utilities down by 0.42%, FMCG down by 0.42% and Bankex down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Interglobe Aviation up by 3.16%, Trent up by 1.86%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.55%, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 0.99% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.95%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.64%, Infosys down by 1.56%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.44%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.34% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.25% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with an aim of strengthening India’s global economic partnerships, India and Italy have decided to elevate their relationship to a special strategic partnership and strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, and new technologies, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni.

Ahead of bilateral talks, PM Modi called on Italian President Sergio Mattarella and discussed different aspects relating to India-Italy friendship, including trade, investment and cultural linkages. They also discussed collaboration in areas such as AI, critical minerals, space and nuclear energy. Earlier, Modi said that his visit would focus on ways to strengthen cooperation between India and Italy, with particular attention to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

India and Italy have witnessed growing economic engagement in recent years, with bilateral trade reaching Euro 14.25 billion in 2025. India's exports stood at Euro 8.55 billion, while Italian exports to India were recorded at Euro 5.70 billion in 2025, marking an increase of 9.42 per cent over 2024. The two countries have set a target of annual bilateral trade of Euro 20 billion by 2029. Italy is India's fourth-largest trading partner in the European Union and has identified India as one of the priority countries under its global trade strategy.

The CNX Nifty ended at 23654.70, down by 4.30 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 23596.60 and 23859.90. There were 25 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchnaged. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Grasim Industries up by 6.43%, Interglobe Aviation up by 3.25%, Apollo Hospital up by 3.11%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.95% and Max Healthcare Inst up by 1.79%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.67%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.37%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.32%, Infosys down by 1.30% and Tata Consumer Products down by 1.14% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; France’s CAC rose 35.58 points or 0.44% to 8,153.00, Germany’s DAX gained 69.76 points or 0.28% to 24,807.00 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 5.98 points or 0.06% to 10,438.32.

Asian markets settled mixed on Thursday as Federal Reserve minutes revealed a hawkish tone, with a majority of policymakers signalling that further interest rate hikes would be necessary if inflation remains sticky above their 2% target. However, Seoul shares spiked, led by technology shares after strong earnings from Nvidia. Further, there were some encouragements in the markets as US President Trump said the US was in the final stages of negotiations with Iran. Besides, tumbling crude oil prices on hopes of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz reduced fears of energy-driven inflationary pressures. On the economic data front, South Korea's Producer prices climbed 2.5% month-on-month in April, accelerating from 1.7% in March due to higher petroleum and raw materials prices stemming from the ongoing war in Iran.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,077.28

-84.91

-2.04

Hang Seng

25,386.52

-264.60

-1.03

Jakarta Composite

6,094.94

-223.56

-3.67

KLSE Composite

1,708.36

-9.33

-0.54

Nikkei 225

61,684.14

1,879.73

3.14

Straits Times

5,045.71

0.80

0.02

KOSPI Composite

7,815.59

606.64

8.42

Taiwan Weighted

41,368.21

1,347.39

3.37
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