Key indices end lower on Wednesday

Indian equity benchmarks recovered most of their intraday losses in volatile trading but ended lower on Wednesday dragged by heavy selling in IT stocks, a fresh spike in crude oil prices and persistent foreign fund outflows. Markets were also cautious ahead of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee decision on Friday. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

Fuel price hikes likely to push up food, core inflation: Amid lingering concerns over the inflationary impact of the West Asia conflict, Crisil in its report has said that rising petrol and diesel prices are set to exert fresh inflationary pressures on the Indian economy. 

India may get limited benefits from US tariffs reduction on industrial, agricultural equipment: Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India may get limited benefits from US tariffs reduction on selected industrial and agricultural equipment containing steel, aluminium or copper from 25% to 15%.

India’s services sector growth accelerates in May with rebound in external demand: India’s services sector continued to witness robust expansion in the month of May 2026, with strengthening demand for services such as freight, digital solutions, e-commerce, entertainment and IT. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index surged to 59.8 in May from 58.8 in April.  

India, UK discuss key sticking points delaying rollout of CETA: India and the UK held discussions on the key issues delaying implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the two countries. The pact was signed in July last year. 

Global front: European markets were trading lower as renewed Middle East tensions continued to push oil prices higher, clouding the outlook for inflation and interest rates. Asian markets ended mostly higher as renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence offset uncertainty over U.S.-Iran negotiations aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 303.67 points or 0.41% to 74,346.17 and the CNX Nifty was down by 77.95 points or 0.33% to 23,405.60.   

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 74,515.65 and 73,492.60, respectively. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.     

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.04%, Bankex up by 0.91%, PSU up by 0.54%, Healthcare up by 0.48% and Capital Goods up by 0.07%, while IT down by 5.01%, TECK down by 3.12%, Realty down by 1.52%, FMCG down by 0.92% and Consumer Durables down by 0.53% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Interglobe Aviation up by 1.57%, SBI up by 1.43%, ICICI Bank up by 1.30%, Trent up by 1.13% and Power Grid Corporation up by 1.01%. On the flip side, TCS down by 8.43%, Tech Mahindra down by 6.23%, HCL Technologies down by 5.25%, Infosys down by 3.82% and ITC down by 2.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil Intelligence in its latest MSME Report has said that India's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are expected to see slower revenue growth and weaker profitability in the current financial year (FY27) as the ongoing West Asia conflict heavily disrupts India's supply chains and rising energy-linked input costs. It said revenue growth for MSMEs is projected to moderate to 7.5-8.5 per cent in fiscal 2027, down by 100 basis points compared with FY26, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins are expected to decline by 50-100 basis points to 5-5.5 per cent. 

The report stated that amid the Covid-19 pandemic, large players had seen revenue decline by up to 1 per cent in FY20 and FY21, while MSMEs experienced a 3-5 per cent drop. The EBITDA margin of MSMEs had also declined 80 bps to 4.7 per cent in FY21. It said the West Asia crisis is following a similar pattern, with small businesses bearing a disproportionate burden. 

However, the report pointed out that MSMEs face a dual challenge this time round: first, production cuts and revenue losses due to reduced availability of raw material such as gas and, second, margin compression stemming from trade disruptions and limited pricing power to pass on increasing commodity and energy costs. Based on impact, Crisil Intelligence classified affected MSMEs into three broad categories--those dependent on energy-related raw materials such as gas, those reliant on energy-linked derivatives and those vulnerable to trade disruptions.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 23,459.65 and 23,151.50, respectively. There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 2.59%, Tata Motors Passenger up by 2.00%, InterGlobe Aviation up by 1.88%, Max Healthcare up by 1.72% and SBI up by 1.55%. On the flip side, TCS down by 8.25%, Tech Mahindra down by 6.45%, HCL Technologies down by 5.31%, Infosys down by 3.96% and Wipro down by 2.83% were the top losers.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 29.89 points or 0.29% to 10,343.62, France’s CAC fell 25.49 points or 0.31% to 8,183.60 and Germany’s DAX lost 308.67 points or 1.23% to 24,815.50.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday tracking Wall Street's gains overnight as renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence offset inflation fears and Fed rate hike expectations. Japanese shares gained after the cabinet approved a 3.1 trillion-yen supplementary budget aimed at cushioning the economic impact of rising energy costs caused by middle east tensions. Chinese shares rose after a private survey showed China's services activity expanded at the fastest pace in three months in May, driven by stronger growth in new business and a rebound in overseas demand. Meanwhile, stock market of south Korea was closed for Election Day.