GIFT Nifty futures signalled a muted start for Indian equity indices on Wednesday, trading at 23,874.50, down 38.5 points or 0.16%, according to latest reports from Economic Times. The Nifty slipped below 24,000, closing at 23,913 amid monthly F&O expiry and profit booking at higher levels. Markets across the Asia-Pacific region traded mixed, with Japan's Topix and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 remaining little changed, while Hang Seng futures were also unchanged. Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 hit a record closing high and the tech-heavy Nasdaq notched further gains, as AI-fueled optimism offset concerns over Middle East peace talks compounded by recent US strikes on Iran. The market sentiment carries a guarded resilience with fresh US strikes on Iran re-introducing geopolitical fear premium, though the magnitude of the Nifty decline is contained relative to the shock, suggesting institutional buyers stepped in near 23,900 to defend the level.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) reported mixed Q4 results with revenue up 14% to ₹35,928 crore versus ₹31,547 crore, but net profit declined 21% to ₹6,650 crore from ₹8,372 crore in the previous year. The company's EBITDA increased 3% to ₹17,774 crore with margins at 49.5% versus 54.9%, while crude oil realization surged 24% to $78.3 per barrel. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) showed resilience with net profit up 8.9% to ₹326 crore despite a 15.1% revenue increase to ₹1,460 crore. P&G Health delivered strong performance with revenue rising 19.1% to ₹371 crore and net profit jumping 54.6% to ₹94.6 crore, while the board declared a dividend of ₹45 per share.
Eternal (Zomato's rebranded entity) emerged as the top Nifty gainer at +1.66% with early trade at ₹251.79, confirming consumer discretionary demand strength even on a broadly negative day. ONGC gained 1.42% to ₹289 early trade as the company's Q4 FY26 results are due, with a royalty cut from 16.66% to 10% already announced providing a structural earnings upgrade. Infosys advanced 0.83% to ₹1,178 early trade confirming the IT sector recovery on US market reopening. Coal India gained 1.33% to ₹464.10 early trade with metal and PSU sector leadership, while Hindalco rose 1.30% to ₹1,113.90. The Nifty Metal sector led at +0.81% with metal sector recovery after 25 May losses, and Bank Nifty held above 55,000 confirming private bank institutional demand remains intact.
Coal India informed exchanges that the Government of India will divest up to a 1% stake through an offer-for-sale (OFS) on May 27 and May 29, with an option to sell an additional 1% stake, with the floor price fixed at ₹412 per share. Siemens India reported a 36.4% decline in profit for Q4FY26 at ₹370 crore, compared with ₹582.5 crore in the year-ago period, while revenue increased 14.6% year-on-year to ₹4,618 crore. JK Tyre posted exceptional results with net profit up 94.4% to ₹25.2 crore and revenue rising 12.4% to ₹4,223 crore, while the board declared a dividend of ₹4 per share. Jash Engineering showed strong performance with net profit up 57.1% to ₹56.7 crore despite a 3.3% revenue decline to ₹291 crore.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Tuesday after profit booking erased early gains, with the Sensex falling over 600 points from the days high and the Nifty closing near the 23,900 mark. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 479.25 points or 0.63% to 76,009.70, while the Nifty 50 index fell 118 points or 0.49% to 23,913.70. Sentiment turned cautious after hopes of a quick US-Iran peace deal weakened following fresh US strikes and comments suggesting negotiations could take longer. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth ₹2,407.87 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of ₹1,361.43 crore in the Indian equity market on 26 May 2026, according to provisional data. The FIIs have sold shares worth ₹33,814.77 crore so far in May (till 26 May 2026), following their cash sales of ₹70,135.46 crore in April, ₹122,540.41 crore in March and ₹6,640.78 crore in February.
