JKB Financial Services Ltd.

As on : 18-May-2026

Market Commentary - Mid-Session
18-May-2026 14:31

Benchmarks trade with minor cuts; IT shares rally

The key domestic benchmarks traded with minor losses in mid-afternoon trade amid weak global cues. Investor sentiment remained subdued amid uncertainty surrounding geopolitical developments. The rupee depreciated, while Brent crude prices rallied above the $110-per-barrel mark. Nifty hovered near the 23,600 level.

IT shares witnessed buying demand for second consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 45.31 points or 0.06% to 75,192.68. The Nifty 50 index shed 38.95 points or 0.16% to 23,604.55.

The broader market underperformed the frontliner indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 0.69% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index dropped 1.90%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,101 shares rose and 3,122 shares fell. A total of 193 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT Index advanced 2.04% to 28,283.25. The index jumped 3.37% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Coforge (up 4.4%), Tech Mahindra (up 4.11%), Persistent Systems (up 3.7%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 3.16%), Mphasis (up 3.09%), LTM (up 2.35%), Infosys (up 1.7%), Wipro (up 1.01%), HCL Technologies (up 0.95%) and Tata Consultancy Services (up 0.81%) advanced.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.68% to 7.124 compared with the previous session close of 7.076.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 96.2700 compared with its previous close of 95.8100. It also touched an all-time intraday low of 96.3350 today.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2026 settlement rose 0.37% to Rs 159,140.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.17% to 99.12.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.09% to 4.595.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2026 settlement rose 0.98 cents or 0.98% to $110.24 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Electricals tumbled 8.48% after the company reported a net loss of Rs 68 crore in Q4 FY26 as against a net profit of Rs 59 crore in Q4 FY25. Revenue from operations fell by 2.1% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,240 crore in the March 2026 quarter.

Delhivery dropped 3.83% after the logistics company reported a largely flat consolidated net profit of Rs 72.39 crore for Q4 FY26, compared with Rs 72.55 crore in the year-ago period, marking a marginal decline of 0.22% YoY. Revenue from operations increased 30.04% year on year to Rs 2,849.99 crore in Q4 FY26.

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