Indian markets showed mixed performance on Friday, with the Sensex advancing 123.81 points or 0.17% to 75,528.10 as of 12:25 pm, while the Nifty 50 rose 46.35 points or 0.20% to 23,735.95. According to Business Standard, the session witnessed a pullback from the morning's highs, suggesting some profit-taking at higher levels. The rally was supported by Gift Nifty trading around 23,769 level, indicating a mildly positive start for Friday's session. Markets are pricing in the possibility that the bilateral meeting could unlock diplomatic momentum on the Iran front and ease geopolitical premiums, with the buying spanning pharma, metal, oil-linked and infrastructure counters from the first minutes of trade.
The Nifty FMCG index emerged as the standout performer, advancing 0.66% to 51,116.60, marking its third consecutive trading session of gains with a 1.31% increase over three sessions. As reported by Business Standard, United Spirits jumped 3.46% after the company's standalone net profit surged 26.61% to ₹571 crore on a 3.39% rise in revenue to ₹3,046 crore in Q4 FY26. Other notable gainers included Emami (up 1.61%), Radico Khaitan (up 1.52%), Patanjali Foods (up 1.24%), Tata Consumer Products (up 1.1%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.06%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.86%), Marico (up 0.84%), Dabur India (up 0.72%) and ITC (up 0.5%). The sustained rally in FMCG stocks reflects continued investor confidence in the consumer goods sector.
Among Nifty 50 losers, Hindalco Industries fell 2.04% to ₹1,080.70 with over 31 lakh shares traded, while Reliance Industries declined 1.89% to ₹1,335.90 and Trent dropped 1.80% to ₹4,049.60. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, UltraTech Cement slipped 1.10% to ₹11,563.00 and Eternal fell 1.07% to ₹243.19. Market breadth on the BSE reflected the cautious mood, with 1,891 stocks rising and 2,012 declining out of 4,121 traded, while 93 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.
The Indian rupee weakened significantly, hovering at 95.9400 against the US dollar compared with its previous close of 95.6400, as reported by Business Standard. 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, while 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, according to The Hindu BusinessLine. The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.67% to 18.49, indicating reduced market uncertainty. The Nifty 26 May 2026 futures were trading at 23,742, at a premium of 6.05 points as compared with the spot at 23,735.95. The Nifty option chain for the 26 May 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 55.3 lakh contracts at the 24,500 strike price and a maximum put OI of 50.1 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. The broader market underperformed with the BSE 150 MidCap Index shedding 0.26% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index falling 0.13%, while 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.
