Indian benchmark indices experienced a weak start on Thursday, influenced by declines in the banking and auto sectors, following a strong rally earlier in the week. The BSE Sensex was down 501 points, or 0.62%, at 80,828, while the Nifty50 slipped 131 points, or 0.53%, to 24,535. Similarly, another report indicated that Sensex was down 208 points or 0.26 per cent at 81,122 and Nifty was down 54 points or 0.22 per cent at 24,612.

Tata Power and Eicher Motors stood out with their stocks rising after strong Q4FY25 results. Tata Power jumped 2% after reporting a 25% YoY increase in its consolidated net profit, reaching Rs 1,306 crore. Eicher Motors shares surged 2% after posting a consolidated net profit increase of 27% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,362 crore.

Analysts anticipate a near-term consolidation phase, noting that recent gains from trade deal progress and macroeconomic stability appear to be priced in. Dr. VK Vijayakumar from Geojit Investments Limited suggested that sustained robust FII buying, which lifted the largecaps, is likely to weaken, potentially leading to a ‘Sell India; Buy China’ tactical FII trade. He also highlighted renewed buying in defence stocks due to the prime minister’s appreciation of made-in-India defence weapons.

Devarsh Vakil from HDFC Securities noted that Nifty's bullish trend remains intact, with strong support levels established at 24500 and 24378, while resistance is likely to emerge at 24,850 and 24,975 on the upside.

Global markets presented a mixed picture. Wall Street ended mixed, while Asian markets, including Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Seoul, were mostly trading in the red. The US market also closed in the mixed zone with Dow Jones down 0.21 per cent and Nasdaq up 0.72 per cent.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 931 crore on May 14, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 316 crore.

Oil prices fell nearly $1 due to expectations of a potential U.S.-Iran nuclear deal and concerns about oversupply, following an unexpected build in U.S. crude oil inventories. Brent crude futures fell 88 cents, or 1.3%, to $65.21 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid 92 cents, or 1.5%, to $62.23.

The Indian rupee fell 23 paise to 85.55 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index declined 0.22% to 100.81 level.

Hardik Matalia from Choice Broking suggested a cautious ‘wait and watch’ approach due to market uncertainty and heightened volatility, particularly for high-leverage positions.

Buying was observed across midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 169 points or 0.30 per cent at 56,306 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 96 points or 0.56 per cent at 17,243. On the sectoral front, auto, PSU Bank, metal, media, infra and commodities were major gainers, while IT, FMCG, realty and energy were major losers.

In the Sensex pack, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement and Bajaj Finance were major gainers. Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Eternal (Zomato) and Axis Bank were major losers.