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Key gauges end with minor gains on Wednesday
May-13-2026

Indian equity benchmarks ended marginally higher on Wednesday, snapping their four-day losing streak, led by gains in Metal, Telecom and Consumer Durables stocks. However, elevated crude oil prices, foreign investor outflows, rupee weakness and persistent geopolitical uncertainties restricted the upside. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India-Oman FTA set to come into force from June 1: With an aim to strengthen India’s global economic partnerships, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the India and Oman free trade agreement (FTA) is likely to come into force from June 1, 2026. The pact was signed in December 2025. 

CPI based retail inflation rises to 3.48% in April on uptick in food prices: Retail inflation rate based on All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) with base year 2024 rose marginally to 3.48% (Provisional) in the month of April 2026 as compared to 3.40% (Final) in the preceding month, mainly due to an uptick in food prices. 

PSBs achieves record net profit of Rs 1.98 lakh crore in FY26: The finance ministry has said that Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have achieved a record net profit of Rs 1.98 lakh crore in FY 2025-26 (FY26), marking their fourth consecutive year of strong financial performance, supported by improved asset quality, healthy credit expansion and higher income. 

West Asia crisis a balance of payments stress test, India better placed to navigate: Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said that the ongoing West Asia crisis is a ‘live balance of payments stress test’, with direct consequences for inflation, the current account, and the exchange rate, but India’s fiscal consolidation path, infrastructure investment and reforms provide it a base to navigate the current environment of conflict. 

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green as data from Eurostat showed Eurozone industrial production grew at a steady pace in March. Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday as strong momentum in technology stocks helped investors look past concerns over rising U.S. inflation and the Middle East tensions.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 49.74 points or 0.07% to 74,608.98 and the CNX Nifty was up by 33.05 points or 0.14% to 23,412.60.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 75,191.57 and 74,134.48, respectively. There was 13 stock advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.30%, Telecom up by 2.79%, Consumer Durables up by 2.43%, Basic Materials up by 1.91% and Oil & Gas up by 1.77%, while IT down by 1.11%, Auto down by 0.92%, Utilities down by 0.27% and Bankex down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 4.48%, Tata Steel up by 3.63%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.93%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 2.79% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.78%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.07%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.52%, Infosys down by 1.51%, TCS down by 1.21% and Sun Pharma down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to strengthen India’s global economic partnerships, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the India and Oman free trade agreement (FTA) is likely to come into force from June 1, 2026. The pact was signed in December 2025. The Omani delegation is on India visit to discuss ways to boost trade and investments. The agreement will provide duty-free access to 98% of India's exports, including textiles, agri, and leather goods in Oman. On the other hand, India will reduce tariffs on Omanese products such as dates, marbles and petrochemical items. Meanwhile, India-Oman bilateral trade stood at $10.61 billion in FY 2024-25, reflecting the expanding scale of the both economies.

Further, about his meeting with the Chilean foreign minister, Goyal said there are challenges given the different size of the economies and different scale of opportunities that both countries offer to each other. He noted that they are trying to bridge that gap through innovative solutions. He said ‘If we get a good deal around critical minerals and other important mining concessions then maybe there is some very good possibility that we should be able to finalise an FTA with Chile’.

India and Chile implemented a preferential trade agreement (PTA) in 2006 and are now negotiating to widen its scope for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The CEPA with Chile aims to build upon the existing PTA and seeks to encompass a broader range of sectors, including digital services, investment promotion and cooperation, MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), and critical minerals. The pact could help India access critical minerals, which are key inputs for electronics, auto, and solar sectors. The bilateral trade between India and Chile is modest. In 2024-25, India's exports to Chile declined 2.46% to just $1.15 billion. However, imports grew 72% to $2.60 billion.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 23,582.95 and 23,262.55, respectively. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 4.37%, Adani Enterprises up by 4.07%, Tata Steel up by 3.73%, Hindalco up by 3.61% and Bharat Electronics up by 3.00%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.16%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.54%, Infosys down by 1.48%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.29% and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries down by 1.20% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 1.65 points or 0.02% to 10,266.97, France’s CAC fell 27.42 points or 0.34% to 7,952.50 and Germany’s DAX gained 85.77 points or 0.36% to 24,040.70. 

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday as strong momentum in technology shares outweighed worries about hotter-than-expected US inflation data and Middle East tensions. Meanwhile, traders shifted focus on the high-stakes trade talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Japan’s Nikkei surpassed the 63,000 marks for the first time after US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent praised Japan's economic resilience and touted coordination with Japan on tackling excessively volatile currency moves. South Korean shares hit an all-time high amid an AI-led chipmaker rally. However, Samsung Electronics and its largest labor union failed to reach a pay deal following government-mediated talks, raising the risk of an 18-day strike beginning May 21 that could disrupt production of memory and other chips.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,242.57

28.08

0.67

Hang Seng

26,388.44

40.53

0.15

Jakarta Composite

6,723.32

-135.58

-2.02

KLSE Composite

1,746.31

-4.25

-0.24

Nikkei 225

63,272.11

529.54

0.84

Straits Times

5,003.96

57.96

1.17

KOSPI Composite

7,844.01

200.86

2.63

Taiwan Weighted

41,374.50

-523.82

-1.25
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