The Indian stock market remained range-bound in Tuesday’s trade on May 19, as sentiment stayed fragile even after US President Donald Trump claimed he had paused a planned attack on Iran and said there was now a “very good chance” of reaching a deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Although the benchmark indices opened the session on a positive note, they failed to sustain the gains as the day progressed. The Nifty 50 eventually settled at 23,618, down 0.14% from the previous close, while the S&P BSE Sensex also slipped 0.15% to end at 75,200.
The broader market, however, outperformed the key benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap indices closing higher by 0.91% and 1.17%, respectively, indicating that overall market breadth remained in favour of the bulls.
Among sectoral performers, Nifty IT extended its winning streak for the third straight session, rallying another 3.18%. Nifty Realty and Nifty Media also gained 1.36% and 1.15%, respectively.
On the other hand, financial stocks continued to remain under pressure, with the Nifty Private Bank index declining 0.81%. It was followed by Nifty FMCG and Nifty Metal, which closed with marginal losses of 0.13% and 0.09%, respectively.
On the geopolitical front, Trump reportedly paused planned attacks on Iran following appeals from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. He also indicated that the Gulf nations believed a deal with Tehran acceptable to Washington could still be achieved.
The development triggered a decline in oil prices, although Brent crude continued to hover around $110 per barrel and remained more than 50% above levels seen before the conflict escalated.
Angel One jumps 8%; tech stocks continue upward momentum
Angel One shares topped the gainers’ chart, surging 8% to ₹328 apiece, while Triveni Turbine and Tata Technologies closed with solid gains of 6.9% and 6.2%, respectively. After declining for three consecutive sessions, Tejas Networks shares rebounded 6% to ₹462.70 apiece.
Similarly, IDBI Bank shares ended 6% higher at ₹73.56, snapping a two-day losing streak, while Ola Electric gained 4.72% to close at ₹36.60 apiece, ending its three-session decline.
Vodafone Idea shares advanced 5% after the company’s CEO said it was “deeply engaged” with an SBI-led consortium for a ₹35,000-crore funding package. Meanwhile, technology stocks remained firm for the third straight session, with all constituents of the Nifty IT index closing in the green, led by Infosys and Coforge, which gained over 4% each.
Other IT stocks, including Mphasis, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Oracle Financial Services Software, Persistent Systems, and Tata Consultancy Services, also ended with gains of over 2%.
Among new-age technology stocks, Lenskart Solutions and PB Fintech surged more than 3% each. In the metals pack, Steel Authority of India and Vedanta both rallied 3.3%.
Jain Resource Recycling drops 16%, Astral down 6%
On the losing side, Jain Resource Recycling crashed 16% to ₹391 apiece as the sell-off intensified following the company’s March quarter results. Astral shares also came under severe selling pressure, falling 6.3% to ₹1,448 apiece after its Q4 earnings failed to impress investors.
The decline in KEC International extended for the third straight session, with the stock dropping another 4% to ₹469.40 apiece, marking its lowest level since May 2023.
Other stocks including Berger Paints, Data Patterns, Natco Pharma, Torrent Power, Pine Labs, Escorts Kubota, Poonawalla Fincorp, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HEG and NCC declined over 2.4% each.
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