Markets were holding steady with marginal gains in afternoon trade on Friday, May 15, as buying in information technology and select heavyweights offset losses in metals, retail and energy stocks. At 12.30 pm, the Sensex was trading at 75,483.07, up 84.35 points or 0.11 per cent, while the Nifty 50 was at 23,720.40, up 30.80 points or 0.13 per cent — a pullback from the morning’s highs of 75,651.28 and 23,765.75, respectively, suggesting some profit-taking at higher levels through the session.
Market breadth on the BSE reflected the cautious mood. Of 4,121 stocks traded, 1,885 advanced and 2,016 declined, with 220 unchanged. Ninety-three stocks hit 52-week highs and 34 touched 52-week lows. A total of 119 stocks were in the upper circuit against 152 in the lower circuit, indicating broader selling pressure beneath the headline indices.
Among Nifty 50 gainers, Camphor and Allied Products (CAMPV) continued to lead, up 6.08 per cent to ₹359.35 on heavy volumes of over 3.5 crore shares worth ₹1,25,506.16 lakhs. Infosys gained 2.34 per cent to ₹1,120.60, with nearly 67 lakh shares changing hands. Coal India rose 2.25 per cent to ₹464.25, while Adani Ports added 1.98 per cent to ₹1,808.60. Tech Mahindra climbed 1.68 per cent to ₹1,366.00. The IT sector as a whole was rallying over 2 per cent, reversing Thursday’s 1.75 per cent decline in the index.
On the losing side, Hindalco fell 2.05 per cent to ₹1,080.70, with over 31 lakh shares traded. Trent dropped 2.00 per cent to ₹4,049.60 and Reliance Industries declined 1.90 per cent to ₹1,335.90 on the highest traded value among losers at ₹1,18,388.90 lakhs. UltraTech Cement slipped 1.10 per cent to ₹11,563.00 and Eternal fell 1.07 per cent to ₹243.19.
The Indian rupee remained a concern, edging closer to the 96 mark against the US dollar amid persistent foreign fund outflows. The USD/INR pair was trading above ₹95.8, near all-time highs, with immediate resistance seen at ₹95.9–₹96. A move above that level could extend rupee weakness toward ₹96.5, analysts said. The Thursday close was at 95.77 after a record low of 95.96 intraday.
In commodities, MCX Crude Oil was trading above ₹9,800, holding above its rising trendline, with resistance at ₹9,900–₹9,950. US Oil was near the $98 level after breaking below the $100–$103 consolidation band. MCX Gold opened with a gap-down and was trading below ₹1,60,000, with immediate resistance at ₹1,61,000–₹1,61,800. MCX Silver was in the ₹2,82,000–₹2,83,000 zone after a sharp gap-down open, extending the previous session’s decline.
Technically, Nifty faces resistance near 23,800, with support at 23,500–23,400. Bank Nifty, which closed Thursday at 54,128.95, opened around 54,238 and was consolidating, with a breakout above 54,500 needed to open room toward 54,800–55,000. Results from Tata Steel, Cochin Shipyard, SAIL and Gland Pharma due today keep metals, defence and pharma stocks in focus for the remainder of the session.