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Key gauges end lower on Tuesday
May-26-2026

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower in a volatile trade on Tuesday amid heightened geopolitical tensions and a sharp rebound in crude oil prices following reports of fresh US military operations in southern Iran. Losses in heavyweight stocks such as Bharti Airtel, Trent and TCS also dragged markets lower. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

RBI likely to avoid immediate monetary policy tightening despite mounting inflation risks: Rating agency Icra has said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may hold off on tightening monetary policy for now despite mounting inflation risks from higher fuel prices and monsoon uncertainty. 

West Asia crisis not just geopolitical issue, will result in higher fuel costs for common people: As prices of petrol and diesel were hiked for the fourth time in a span of 11 days, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has cautioned that the West Asia crisis is not just a geopolitical issue, but will result in higher fuel costs for common people and businesses, impacting shipping and supply chains.

Prolonged conflict to shave 200 bps off corporate profitability in FY27: Crisil Ratings said prolonged supply-chain disruptions due to the protracted conflict in West Asia could shave off corporate operating profitability by 200 basis points (bps) in the current fiscal year, but India Inc will remain resilient on the back of strong balance sheets.

India-Japan hold talks focused on global energy supply chains disruption amid West Asia crisis: Amid West Asia crisis disrupting global energy supply chains, the Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has held talks with his Japanese counterpart Motegi Toshimitsu focused on economic fallout related to the supply chains disruption. 

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in red, while Asian markets ended mostly lower after American forces hit missile launch sites in Iran and boats trying to place mines, denting hopes of an imminent peace deal. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 479.26 points or 0.63% to 76,009.70 and the CNX Nifty was down by 118.00 points or 0.49% to 23,913.70. 

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 76,627.04 and 75,909.68, respectively. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.15%, Metal up by 1.02%, Power up by 0.86%, Capital Goods up by 0.52% and Basic Materials up by 0.49%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.86%, Realty down by 0.52%, TECK down by 0.49%, Bankex down by 0.31% and PSU down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.66%, Eternal up by 0.99%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.55%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.55% and Adani Ports &SEZ up by 0.44%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.51%, Trent down by 1.42%, TCS down by 1.35%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.25% and Titan Company down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Moody's Ratings in its latest report has said that elevated global energy prices triggered by the ongoing West Asia conflict, are expected to weigh on the near-term credit conditions of Indian corporates, despite strong balance sheets and favourable long-term growth prospects. Stating that Indian corporates are currently well-positioned to absorb external shocks, supported by deleveraging, healthy liquidity and supportive policy frameworks, it said persistently high energy prices and structural shifts in key service industries could test credit strength over the coming quarters.

According to the report, the ongoing tensions in the West Asia will weigh on near-term earnings and cash flows for energy-intensive and fuel-dependent sectors. It said India's heavy reliance on imported crude oil, liquefied natural gas and certain petroleum products exposes corporates to higher input costs, currency volatility and supply chain disruptions.

It further said state-owned oil marketing companies and downstream fuel retailers face acute margin pressure as elevated costs are only partially passed through to consumers, while fuel-intensive sectors such as cement, chemicals, fertilisers and aviation are seeing rising cost burdens.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 24,089.80 and 23,885.45, respectively. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 4.33%, Tata Motors Passenger up by 3.31%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.71%, Eternal up by 1.34% and Nestle up by 1.28%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 1.65%, Wipro down by 1.62%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.48%, Trent down by 1.42% and TCS down by 1.16% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 72.96 points or 0.88% to 8,185.30, Germany’s DAX lost 188.6 points or 0.74% to 25,200.50 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 65.86 points or 0.63% to 10,532.12.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday as Brent crude climbed above $95 per barrel after early optimism surrounding a potential US-Iran peace deal was dampened by fresh US military strikes in southern Iran. Chinese shares declined as Chinese investors rushed to find alternative ways to trade overseas equities following Beijing’s launch of its most forceful crackdown on illicit cross-border stock trading to stem capital outflows. However, South Korea's Kospi extended gains to fresh record highs as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,145.37

-7.20

-0.17

Hang Seng

25,599.45

-6.58

-0.03

Jakarta Composite

6,130.19

-76.16

-1.23

KLSE Composite

1,699.02

-9.48

-0.55

Nikkei 225

64,996.09

-162.10

-0.25

Straits Times

5,028.80

-41.75

-0.82

KOSPI Composite

8,047.51

199.80

2.55

Taiwan Weighted

43,525.37

-119.03

-0.27
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