Indian equity markets opened significantly higher on Tuesday, with the BSE Sensex jumping 364.02 points or 0.48% to 75,679.06 and the Nifty 50 advancing 89.40 points or 0.38% to 23,739.35 as of 09:23 IST. According to reports from HDFCSky, this positive momentum took Monday's marginal recovery to higher ground, with the benchmark indices recovering from the turbulent session that had seen the Sensex end just 77.05 points higher at 75,315.04 and the Nifty 50 gain only 6.45 points to settle at 23,649.95. The positive opening came on the back of a dramatic pivot in U.S. war posture, with Trump announcing he had instructed the military to stand down from a planned assault on Iran after Tehran transmitted a peace proposal to Washington through Pakistan.
IT stocks emerged as the top performers in early trade, with the Nifty IT index jumping 3.47% and Nifty Midsmall IT & Telecom soaring 2.33%. According to HDFCSky, the top gainers on the Nifty 50 included Infosys (INFY) up 4.55%, HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) up 3.41%, Tech Mahindra (TECHM) up 3.23%, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) up 2.97% and Wipro (WIPRO) up 2.29%. The positive momentum in IT and realty sectors helped support the overall market performance, with investors dusting off technology stocks amid cooling oil-price worries and weaker dollar outlook that bode well for earnings of exporters like IT companies. However, the broader market indices opened in green with Nifty Midcap Select up 0.61%, Nifty Midcap 100 adding 0.53% and Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.49%, indicating buying was well spread across markets and not restricted to large-caps alone.
As reported by HDFCSky, sectorally, Nifty IT jumped 3.47%, Nifty Midsmall IT & Telecom soared 2.33% and Nifty Chemicals rose 1.02% to top the gainers list. However, Nifty Metal declined 0.06%, Nifty Private Bank fell 0.07% and Nifty Realty dropped 0.01%. The broader market breadth remained deeply negative, with 2,891 stocks declining against only 1,216 advances on the NSE, even as India VIX surged nearly 4.5%, reflecting elevated trader anxiety heading into Tuesday's session. The top losers included Hindalco Industries (HINDALCO) down 0.88%, Titan Company (TITAN) down 0.81%, Coal India (COALINDIA) down 0.80%, Shriram Finance (SHRIRAMFIN) down 0.79% and Kotak Mahindra Bank (KOTAKBANK) down 0.75% in early trade.
According to provisional data from Business Standard, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth ₹2,813.69 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of ₹2,682.12 crore in the Indian equity market on May 18, 2026. These substantial institutional inflows provided support to the market despite the negative breadth conditions, indicating continued confidence from both foreign and domestic institutional investors. The positive momentum was supported by investor confidence improving as tensions in West Asia showed signs of easing and Brent crude prices fell below $110 per barrel.
Oil prices retreated sharply in early Asian trade following Trump's announcement, with Brent crude for July delivery falling $3.01, or 2.7%, to $109.09 a barrel, while the more active WTI July contract dropped $2.06, or 2%, to $102.32 per barrel. As per HDFCSky, traders priced in the possibility of reduced supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz. The US Dollar Index (DXY) was down 0.11% to 99.08, while the US 10-year bond yield declined 0.43% to 4.604. Meanwhile, Asian markets presented a mixed picture, with Australia's S&P ASX All Ordinaries rising 0.82%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gaining 0.48% and Vietnam's HNX 30 advancing 0.86%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.64%, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite dropped sharply 1.85% and Pakistan's KSE 100 shed 2.29%.
