The BSE Sensex declined 114 points or 0.15% to close at 77,844.52, while the NSE Nifty fell 4.30 points or 0.02% to end at 24,326.65 on May 7, according to reports from The Hindu. The session was characterized by significant volatility with the benchmark hitting a high of 78,384.70 and a low of 77,713.21, gyrating 671.49 points during the day. The decline came after the previous session's strong performance when the Sensex had jumped 940.73 points or 1.22% to settle at 77,958.52 and the Nifty rallied 298.15 points or 1.24% to end at 24,330.95. Investors turned cautious amid unabated foreign fund outflows and rising geopolitical uncertainties.
Most sectoral indices closed in positive territory with Nifty Auto leading gains for the fourth consecutive session, advancing approximately 2%, as reported by ET Now. The Nifty Metal also advanced for the fourth consecutive session, gaining around 0.3%, with Hindustan Copper and APL Apollo Tubes being the top performers. Nifty Realty closed in green for the second consecutive session, advancing approximately 0.7%, led by gains in ABREL and Lodha. However, Nifty FMCG and IT emerged as the top sectoral losers, declining over 0.6%. Selling pressure was seen in FMCG, IT, PSU Bank and consumer durable stocks, while buying interest emerged in auto, defence, media, defence, and metal counters.
HDFC Life Insurance, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, Grasim Industries and NTPC were among the top contributors on the Nifty, according to ET Now reports. On the downside, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Titan Company, TCS and ITC were the worst performers among the major stocks. From the Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Sun Pharma and ITC were among the major laggards, while Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Steel were among the winners, as reported by The Hindu. The Nifty Bank closed flat near the 56,000 mark, with PSU Bank declining by approximately 0.5% led by losses in Canara Bank and Bank of India.
Nifty Midcap hit an all-time high and advanced over 1.1%, while Nifty Smallcap advanced over 0.9%, as reported by ET Now. The Nifty Pharma sector advanced for the sixth consecutive session, closing in slight green with gains over 0.1%, led by Piramal Pharma. Except for Nifty IT, FMCG, and PSU Bank, all other sectoral indices closed in green, indicating broad-based buying interest across most market segments. The broader markets continued to outperform the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap index rising 1.1% and the Smallcap index gaining 0.9%.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,834.90 crore on Wednesday (May 6, 2026), according to exchange data, contributing to the cautious market sentiment. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 2.23% lower at $99 per barrel, providing some relief on the commodity front. In Asian markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi, Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading higher, while markets in Europe were trading lower and U.S. markets ended sharply higher on Wednesday. As per Ponmudi R., CEO of Enrich Money, "Indian equity markets traded largely flat as investors awaited Iran's response to the US peace proposal. The Nifty consolidated, closing nearly unchanged as markets paused for confirmation before extending the momentum."
