Nifty May 2026 futures closed at 23,481, trading at a premium of 68.4 points compared to the cash market's closing of 23,412.60. As per Business Standard, Dixon Technologies (India), Cipla and HDFC Bank were the top-traded individual stock futures contracts in the F&O segment. The May 2026 F&O contracts will expire on 26 May 2026, indicating active positioning by traders ahead of the expiry. The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.75% to 19.43, reflecting increased uncertainty in the market.
Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty snapped a four-session losing streak to close higher on Wednesday, aided by value buying in beaten-down stocks. According to reports from Business Standard, the Sensex advanced 49.74 points or 0.07% to 74,608.98, while the Nifty 50 index added 33.05 points or 0.14% to 23,412.60. In the past four consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex declined 4.43% and the Nifty 50 fell 3.96%. The market recovered from early volatility and profit booking to rebound sharply from intraday lows, with the Nifty settling above the 23,400 mark.
Gains were led by metal, consumer durable and energy shares, while IT and auto stocks remained under pressure. As reported by Business Standard, Tata Steel (up 3.63%), Bharti Airtel (up 1.78%) and Larsen & Toubro (up 1.56%) boosted the indices. The broader market outperformed the frontline indices, with the BSE 150 MidCap Index climbing 0.71% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rising 0.27%. Market breadth remained positive with 2,407 shares rising and 1,793 shares falling on the BSE, while 177 shares were unchanged.
Investor sentiment remained cautious amid elevated crude oil prices, persistent foreign institutional investor outflows, rupee weakness and lingering global inflation concerns. According to Business Standard, the Indian rupee touched a fresh intraday record low of 95.80 against the US dollar. Global markets showed mixed performance as US Dow Jones futures were down around 130 points, indicating a weak opening for Wall Street. Most European markets traded higher, recovering from previous session losses, while US annual inflation accelerated to 3.8% in April 2026 from 3.3% in March, exceeding market expectations of 3.7%. Notably, the Nasdaq Composite advanced approximately 1.2% to trade near 26,400 points after the Nasdaq 100 added 1.06%, posting a notable divergence from the broader market's mixed performance.
Several companies reported strong quarterly results, with MTAR Technologies jumping 7.98% after consolidated profit after tax stood at ₹44.3 crore in Q4 FY26, up 223.4% from ₹13.7 crore in Q4 FY25. Berger Paints India surged 4.96% after reporting a 27.75% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to ₹334.77 crore for Q4 FY26. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) added 5.55% after standalone net profit jumped 46.09% to ₹4,901.50 crore in Q4 FY26. However, some companies faced challenges, with Tata Power Company falling 3.36% after consolidated net profit fell 4.50% to ₹995.91 crore.
In the commodities market, MCX Gold futures for the 5 June 2026 settlement jumped 5.91% to ₹162,512. Brent crude for July 2026 settlement gained 23 cents or 0.21% to $108 a barrel. The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.01% to 7.046 compared with the previous session close of 7.047. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.7175 compared with its close of 95.6800 during the previous trading session. The US Dollar Index (DXY) was up 0.18% to 98.360.
