15th May | Dalal Street
Dalal Street shook off a shaky start on Thursday to close the session on a firm note, even as geopolitical heat from West Asia and a record-low rupee kept traders on edge. The NSE Nifty 50 ended 29.15 points, or 0.12%, lower at 23,660.45 after recovering from an intraday low of 23,610.30. The BSE Sensex slipped 105.79 points, or 0.14%, to settle at 75,292.93, having reclaimed the 75,500 mark mid-session.The charts told a tale of two halves. Nifty opened gap-up at 23,731.40, surged to 23,839.30 by 10 am, but profit booking dragged it below the previous close of 23,689.60. Sensex mirrored the move, hitting a high of 75,870.36 before slipping to a low of 75,139.41. Despite the red close, bulls found solace in a sharp pullback from day’s lows, powered by IT and auto stocks.INDEX SNAPSHOT: 15 MAY 2026, 3:30 PM ISTIndex Close Change % Change High LowNifty 50 23,660.45 -29.15 -0.12% 23,839.30 23,610.30BSE Sensex 75,292.93 -105.79 -0.14% 75,870.36 75,139.4152-wk high: Nifty 26,373.20, Sensex 86,159.02SECTOR SCOREBOARD: IT Shines, Oil & Gas SinksTech Mahindra, Infosys lead charge; OMCs crack on margin mathIt was a split screen on the sectoral front. Nifty IT jumped nearly 2.5%, staging a rebound after four sessions of cuts. Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra topped the Sensex gainers list.Auto stocks also vroomed. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles soared 8.3% despite a 32% YoY profit fall, as Street cheered margin recovery and strong volume guidance. The stock hit Rs 366.95 intraday.The pain point was energy. Nifty Oil & Gas slipped after the Centre hiked petrol and diesel by Rs 3/litre and CNG by Rs 2/kg, the first increase in four years. Reliance, BPCL, HPCL and IOC felt the heat as Brent crude flared to $107/bbl on Strait of Hormuz tensions.Broader markets wobbled. Nifty Midcap and Smallcap closed 0.20% and 0.55% lower respectively. India VIX cooled to 18.61, signaling easing nerves.BUSINESS BIG MOVES: Adani Gets DOJ Breather, JSW Steel Rewards StreetUS prosecutors near dropping Adani fraud case; India Inc. Q4 scorecard mixedGautam Adani got a major reprieve. The US Justice Department is close to dropping criminal fraud charges against the billionaire after he resolved a parallel SEC civil case with an $18 million penalty. Adani stocks pared early gains, with Adani Enterprises up 0.8% and Adani Ports up 1.64%. The move removes a key overhang as Adani pledges $10 billion US investment.Q4 earnings kept desks busy. JSW Steel declared a 710% dividend as EBITDA jumped 35.4% YoY to Rs 8,634 cr on exceptional gains. Tata Motors PV saw net profit fall 31.7% to Rs 5,783 cr, but revenue rose 7.2% to Rs 1.05 lakh cr. EPL Ltd posted its strongest Q4 in five years with revenue up 17.6%.Policy watch: Government banned sugar exports till Sept 30, 2026 to cool domestic prices as closing stocks may fall to 3.5-3.8 mt.GEOPOLITICAL GYRATIONS: BRICS, Strait of Hormuz, Modi’s 5-Nation BlitzNew Delhi hosts BRICS FMs; PM heads to UAE for energy diplomacy as Iran war roils oilNew Delhi turned into the world’s diplomatic war room. India hosted BRICS Foreign Ministers on May 14-15 under its 2026 chairmanship, with EAM S Jaishankar flagging “considerable flux” from ongoing conflicts and energy insecurity. He pushed for safe maritime flows through the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, and called dialogue the only path to peace. Iran’s Abbas Araghchi and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov were in attendance.PM Modi embarked on a six-day tour to UAE, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy starting May 15. The UAE leg is critical: talks with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed will focus on energy security, LPG and strategic petroleum reserves pacts. With the Strait of Hormuz choked and Brent above $100, India is racing to diversify supply.Global ripples: Trump left Beijing with no Iran breakthrough but warm words for Xi. Xi warned that mishandling Taiwan could spiral into conflict. Meanwhile, US House narrowly defeated a resolution to rein in Trump’s Iran war powers 212-212.CURRENCY & COMMODITY CONUNDRUM: Rupee Hits 95.85, Crude Burns at $107RBI on watch as imported inflation bites; experts flag 100/dollar riskThe rupee breached 95.85 against the dollar, a new record low, on West Asia jitters. Analysts warn it may test 100 in six months without policy action.Brent’s 1% rise to $107 kept OMCs and aviation on tenterhooks. The fuel price hike is “playing it safe through small increases” to avoid a cost-push shock, said Geojit’s V K Vijayakumar.STREET SMART: Levels to Watch, Stocks in SpotlightMorning Doji Star hints at reversal; 23,950 key hurdle for NiftyTechnically, Nifty formed a Morning Doji Star, hinting at a bullish reversal. Immediate resistance lies at 23,950-24,000, with support at 23,450-23,500. Bajaj Broking sees 23,800 as the breakout zone for a pullback to 24,100.Stocks to watch Friday: Tata Steel, PowerGrid, SAIL, Cochin Shipyard, Gland Pharma on Q4 results. Brokers like Indus Towers, RBL Bank, Adani Green Energy.THE WRAP: Caution Reigns, But Dips Get BoughtWith Iran war, oil at $107 and FII selling, volatility isn’t going away. Yet DII buying of Rs 7,990 cr and IT’s comeback show domestic flows have a spine. For now, Dalal Street is living by the old adage: buy the dip, but keep a helmet on.
