Benchmarks wiped most of their gains and were trading flat in late afternoon session as Indian rupee weakened by 42 paise against US dollar to trade at 96.06. Further, rise in crude oil prices sparked caution among investors. The Brent crude oil prices have surged over 3% today to trade above $109 a barrel mark. Besides, traders opted to book some profits following the recent two-day rally and stayed away from risky bets ahead weekend. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for aligning standards and customs procedures between India and Africa to boost bilateral trade. Highlighting the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), valued at nearly $3.4 trillion, alongside India’s rapidly expanding $4 trillion economy, he stressed that these synergies could unlock resilient partnerships, diversify supply chains, and move trade beyond raw materials toward high-value manufacturing and fully integrated value chains.
On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading lower amid rising bets that Federal Reserve may keep the rate unchanged for longer period. European equity markets were trading lower with inflation concerns amid heightened west asia tensions.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75420.44, up by 21.72 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 75251.15 and 75870.36. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 1.09%, IT up by 0.89%, FMCG up by 0.63%, Telecom up by 0.48% and Consumer Durables up by 0.28%, while Metal down by 1.57%, Oil & Gas down by 1.57%, Realty down by 1.37%, PSU down by 1.14% and Basic Materials down by 1.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.88%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.85%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.74%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.56% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.48%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.88%, Reliance Industries down by 1.85%, Eternal down by 1.55%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.35% and SBI down by 1.33% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, amid mounting losses of fuel retailers due to elevated global crude prices, oil-marketing companies (OMCs) hiked petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre each on May 15, 2026, for the first time in over four years. Petrol price was hiked to Rs 97.77 per litre from Rs 94.77 in the national capital, while diesel costs Rs 90.67 as against Rs 89.67 per litre previously. Petrol in Mumbai now costs Rs 106.68 a litre and diesel come for Rs 93.14 per litre. In Kolkata, petrol costs Rs 108.74 per litre and diesel Rs 95.13, while in Chennai, prices increased to Rs 103.67 for petrol and Rs 95.25 for diesel. Rates vary across states due to differences in value-added tax.
Prices have remained on freeze since April 2022 but for a one-off reduction by Rs 2 a litre each on petrol and diesel in March 2024, just before Lok Sabha elections. Rates were last hiked in April 2022. In the meantime, energy prices globally shot up after the US-Israel attack on Iran on February 28, and the subsequent retaliation by Tehran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz - the sea lane through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transits.
Crude oil, the input raw material for making petrol and diesel, surged above $120 per barrel during the peak of the West Asia conflict, as opposed to the $70-72 range before the conflict. Meanwhile, the basket of crude oil that India imports averaged $69 per barrel in February before the war in West Asia broke out. It averaged $113-114 per barrel in subsequent months. More recently, prices have eased but remained elevated around the $104-110 per barrel range. This triggered massive losses for state-owned fuel retailers. The oil companies were losing Rs 14 per litre on petrol, Rs 42 a litre on diesel and Rs 674 a litre on cooking gas LPG before the price hike.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23695.05, up by 5.45 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 23663.35 and 23839.30. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles up by 5.68%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.12%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories up by 1.95%, Coal India up by 1.94% and Infosys up by 1.86%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.83%, Tata Steel down by 2.02%, Reliance Industries down by 1.91%, Eternal down by 1.50% and Nestle down by 1.48% were the top losers.
Asian equity markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 1649.05 points or 2.7% to 61,005.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 579.39 points or 1.41% to 41,172.36, Hang Seng declined 449.04 points or 1.73% to 25,940.00, KOSPI dropped 488.23 points or 6.52% to 7,493.18, Straits Times fell 11.52 points or 0.23% to 4,984.42 and Shanghai Composite weakened 42.53 points or 1.03% to 4,135.39. Meanwhile, Indonesian market remained closed on account of Holiday.
European equity markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 139.04 points or 1.34% to 10,233.89, France’s CAC fell 98.27 points or 1.22% to 7,984.00 and Germany’s DAX lost 448.96 points or 1.84% to 24,007.30.
