Indian equity markets witnessed range-bound activity throughout May 27 session amid persistent geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran situation despite easing crude oil prices. According to reports from Taking Stock, benchmark indices erased opening losses during initial hours and oscillated between gains and losses before ending marginally lower. The Sensex closed down 141.90 points or 0.19 percent at 75,867.80, while the Nifty ended 6.55 points or 0.03 percent lower at 23,907.15. Despite the muted headline moves, sectoral action remained sharp across the market with 10 of the 16 major sectoral indices ending in positive territory.
Metal stocks emerged as the standout outperformers of the session after aluminium prices climbed to their highest level in more than four years amid supply concerns. The Nifty Metal index rose around 1.7%, led by strong gains in Hindalco Industries and National Aluminium Company, which surged roughly 4.2% and 4.1%, respectively. Hindalco Industries share price ended at ₹1,149.7 while National Aluminium Company share price settled at ₹433. Investors flocked to metal counters on expectations that sustained strength in global aluminium prices could improve earnings prospects for domestic producers.
Financial stocks emerged as the biggest drag on the indices, primarily due to sharp losses in HDFC Bank share price. The banking heavyweight fell around 2.6% after a report suggested it had paid ₹45 crore to a state road development corporation to secure large deposits. The lender strongly rejected any assumption of wrongdoing or culpability, but the decline significantly weighed on benchmark indices due to its heavy index weighting. Both HDFC Bank and HDFC Life Insurance Company featured among the top losers on the Nifty, while selling pressure was also visible in another heavyweight private lender ICICI Bank, which declined 0.5% at ₹1,273 amid persistent foreign institutional investor outflows.
Selling pressure in banking, IT, and oil & gas stocks capped the upside, while gains in power, metals, telecom, auto, and media counters provided support to the broader market. As reported by Taking Stock, among major gainers on the Nifty were Hindalco Industries, Power Grid Corp, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle, Eternal, and NTPC. Conversely, ONGC, ITC, HDFC Life, HDFC Bank, and Wipro were among the notable losers during the session. The Nifty Midcap index rose 0.4% and the Smallcap index gained 0.15%, with the broader market reflecting retail participation and momentum remaining strong in select retail-favourite counters including Jaiprakash Power Ventures, Vodafone Idea, and Suzlon Energy.
The market will remain shut on May 28 (Thursday) on account of Bakri Id. Global cues remained mixed for Indian equities, with MSCI's index of Asia emerging market equities surging 1.5% to a record high, supported by a powerful AI-driven rally in South Korean and Taiwanese technology stocks. Taiwan also overtook India to become the world's fifth-largest equity market by market capitalisation, boosted by a surge in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shares. Analysts noted that sustained foreign investor preference for AI-heavy Asian markets such as Taiwan and South Korea has kept Indian equities relatively under pressure.
