The Indian stock markets witnessed significant gains on May 14, with the BSE SENSEX closing 789.74 points or 1.06% higher at 75,398.72 and the NSE NIFTY50 surging 277 points or 1.18% to end at 23,689.60. According to market reports, the SENSEX zoomed as much as 1.44% to hit an intraday high of 75,681.88, while the NIFTY50 reached the session's high of 23,777.20. The positive sentiment was driven by expectations of possible government measures to support the rupee and positive developments from the Trump-Xi summit. As per Geojit Investments, Indian equities recovered despite continued pressure from currency weakness and rising crude oil prices, with investors encouraged by expectations that the government may take measures to reduce pressure on the rupee, including possible bond tax relief for foreign investors and tightening of the Liberalized Remittance Scheme to control capital outflows.
Sectoral performance was broadly positive with 34 out of 38 sectors advancing on the BSE, led by strong performances in telecommunications and metal sectors. The S&P BSE Telecommunication sector emerged as the top gainer, climbing 2.87%, buoyed by strong buying interest in key constituents. The Nifty Metal index hit a fresh 52-week high, reflecting optimism around commodity demand and pricing. Conversely, the Nifty IT sector was the sole major laggard, declining 1.99% amid profit-taking and subdued global cues impacting technology stocks. This divergence highlights the ongoing rotation from defensive IT names to cyclical sectors such as metals and telecom. The advance-decline ratio across the BSE 500 index stood at a healthy 1.59x, with 306 stocks advancing against 192 declining, confirming broad participation in the rally, particularly among large and mid caps. On the NSE, almost all sectoral indices ended in the green except the IT index, which declined by 2 per cent.
Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, and Sun Pharma emerged as the top gainers in today's session, with strong gains in pharma, healthcare, and metal stocks supporting the overall market performance. Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Tech were among the top losers during the trading session. The positive momentum was supported by investors buying stocks that had fallen sharply in recent sessions, helping SENSEX and NIFTY recover after recent losses linked to rising crude oil prices and economic concerns. Adani Enterprises led the NIFTY50 gains, closing 8.55% higher, amid a rally in Adani Group stocks. NLC India surged 14.01% to top the mid cap gainers, driven by positive sentiment around the power sector. Caplin Point Laboratories was the standout small cap gainer, rising 9.77% on robust buying, while Garden Reach Shipbuilders was the top small cap decliner, down 5.19%.
On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) showed restrained buying amid global uncertainties, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued to support the market through steady purchases. The positive market sentiment was supported by these balanced institutional flows, with DIIs providing significant support to the market's upward momentum despite external headwinds. The BSE 150 Midcap index is trading 0.95% higher and the BSE 250 SmallCap index is trading 0.18% higher, indicating broad-based participation across different market segments. This balanced institutional flow helped sustain the upward momentum despite cautious foreign institutional investor flows.
Crude oil prices continued to remain elevated amid ongoing geopolitical concerns, with Brent crude trading at USD 105 per barrel at the time of filing this report. In the commodity market, gold prices continued their upward movement, with 24 karat gold reaching ₹1,62,250 per 10 grams on Thursday, while silver prices declined by 1 per cent to ₹2,97,002 per kilogram. Asian markets showed mixed trends, with Japan's Nikkei 225 closing lower by 0.59% at 62,898, Singapore's Straits Times declining 0.16% to 4,995, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng marginally lower by 0.11% at 26,360. However, Taiwan's weighted index gained 0.90% to close at 41,751 and South Korea's KOSPI surged 1.72% to 7,981, indicating regional divergence in market sentiment.
