Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) due to a fag-end sell-off in blue-chip stocks HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries, as concerns rose over the Rupee hitting a new record low.

Elevated global crude prices tracking geopolitical uncertainties also impacted market sentiment, but robust buying in IT stocks restricted the fall in indices, traders said.

After remaining in the positive territory for the most part of the session, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex suddenly came under selling pressure towards the end, declining 114.19 points, or 0.15%, to settle at 75,200.85.

During the day, it surged 431.23 points, or 0.57%, to 75,746.27 after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had halted fresh strikes on Iran at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, asserting that serious discussions were under way with Tehran that could lead to an acceptable deal. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 31.95 points, or 0.14%, to end at 23,618.

"IT stocks stood as a notable exception, registering robust advances on the back of anticipated tailwinds from an accelerating rupee depreciation and compelling valuations," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

From the Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma were among the biggest laggards. Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Eternal and Tata Consultancy Services were among the major winners.

"Despite a powerful rally in IT stocks and supportive global cues during the first half, benchmark indices failed to sustain higher levels as rising currency concerns, elevated crude oil prices, and aggressive derivative unwinding dragged the market lower into the close," K. Hariprasad, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said.

The BSE SmallCap Select index jumped 1.39%, and the MidCap Select index went up by 0.93%.

Among sectoral indices, BSE Top 10 Banks declined 0.55%, Private Banks index (0.54%), Services (0.30%), Metal (90.26%) and Telecommunication (0.21%). Focused IT jumped 3.25%, IT (3.22%), Realty (1.35%), Utilities (0.67%) and Consumer Discretionary (0.60%).

Meanwhile, the rupee slipped to a record low of 96.60 against the US dollar before settling at 96.52 (provisional) on Tuesday (May 19, 2026). Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 1.80% lower at $110 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹2,813.69 crore on Monday (May 18, 2026), according to exchange data.

The majority of Adani Group stocks ended higher after the U.S. Department of Justice permanently dropped all criminal charges against business tycoon Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar, bringing a high-profile securities and wire fraud case in New York to a complete close after prosecutors concluded they could not sustain the allegations.

In Asian markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended lower, while Shanghai's Stock Exchange (SSE) Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index settled higher. Markets in Europe were trading in positive territory.

“The biggest pressure point remained the continued collapse in the Indian rupee alongside persistently elevated crude oil prices,” he added.

U.S. markets ended on a mixed note on Monday (May 18, 2026). Mr. Trump had made the announcement on Truth Social on Monday (May 18, 2026) late afternoon.

"I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday (May 19, 2026))," Mr. Trump said.

"We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I've put it off for a little while, hopefully, maybe forever, but possibly for a little while, because we've had very big discussions with Iran and we'll see what they amount to," Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House.

In the previous session on Monday (May 18, 2026), the BSE benchmark increased by 77.05 points, or 0.10%, to settle at 75,315.04. The Nifty edged higher by 6.45 points, or 0.03%, to end at 23,649.95.