Stock markets decline for second day on selling in oil and gas, banking shares; Sensex down 142 points

Stock markets closed lower for the second consecutive day on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) as investors remained cautious amid conflicting geopolitical signals from the West Asia and fresh foreign fund outflows.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex declined 141.90 points, or 0.19%, to settle at 75,867.80, with 20 of its constituents ending higher and 10 with losses. During the day, it hit a high of 76,224.68 and a low of 75,748.21, gyrating 476.47 points.

The 50-share National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty skidded 6.55 points, or 0.03%, to end at 23,907.15. Sensex had dropped by 479.26 points and Nifty by 118 points on Tuesday (May 26, 2026). Financials, oil and gas, IT and private banking shares were the major drag while energy, metals, and auto shares advanced, capping the downside.

Among 30 Sensex firms, HDFC Bank fell the most by 2.63%. Infosys, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank were also among the major laggards. Power Grid, Eternal, NTPC and Tata Steel were the major gainers.

“Investor sentiment remained cautious amid lingering concerns surrounding the fragile US-Iran truce and elevated crude oil prices,” Ajit Mishra – Senior Vice-President (SVP), Research, Religare Broking Ltd. said. Indian equity markets ended largely subdued as investors adopted a wait-and-watch approach amid conflicting geopolitical signals from the West Asia.

“While indications of continued diplomatic engagement between the U.S. and Iran helped stabilise sentiment and limit aggressive selling pressure, the absence of any concrete breakthrough kept risk appetite restrained,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

Broader markets closed on a mixed note with the BSE SmallCap Select index declining by 0.29% and MidCap Select index gaining 0.52%.

Among sectoral indices, Top 10 Banks edged lower by 0.90%, Private Banks index dropped 0.83%, Financial Services by 0.64%, Bankex by 0.48%, Focused IT by 0.26% and IT by 0.26%.

Capital Goods jumped 3.21%, followed by Utilities (2.39%), Power (3.27%), Metal (1.74%), Auto (1.33%), Telecommunication (1.02%) and Consumer Discretionary (1.01%).

In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended higher, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index settled lower. Markets in Europe were trading in positive territory. U.S. markets mostly ended higher on Tuesday (May 26, 2026).

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,407.87 crore on Tuesday (May 26, 2026), according to exchange data. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 3.24% to $96.35 per barrel.

The rupee slipped by 3 paise to settle at 95.73 against the U.S. dollar. Stock and forex markets will remain closed on Thursday (May 28, 2026) for Bakrid.