NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Asian markets, FII activity, oil prices, among key things to know before opening bell on May 26

NSE data showed that the GIFT NIFTY futures were trading 0.37% lower at 24,037.50 points ahead of the opening bell on Tuesday, despite the oil prices trading lower in the global market and a subdued dollar demand.

The NIFTY50 index closed 1.32% higher at 24,031.70 points after Monday’s trading session, compared to 23,719.30 points at the previous stock market close, according to NSE data.

Meanwhile, the BSE SENSEX index also closed higher, with 1.42% gains at 76,488.96 points after Monday’s trading session, compared to 75,415.35 points at the previous market close, as per the exchange data.

Key things to know before market opens

Asian markets today

Global investors in the Asian markets were in profit booking mode after the massive momentum at the beginning of the week, due to the dynamic shift in the geopolitical tensions. Reports of fresh attacks on the Iranian military sites have raised concerns of any further escalation amid a fragile ceasefire deal.

Investors were also closely monitoring the negotiations between the United States and Iran for any potential peace deal, which is expected by this week, as the conflict has entered its 13th week since the beginning of the conflict.

MarketWatch data showed that the Asia Dow was trading 1.04% lower at 6,311.60 points, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading 0.40% lower at 64,897.64 points, China’s Shanghai was down 0.92% at 4,114.52 points, while the Singapore exchange was down 0.23% lower at 5,058.26 points on Tuesday.

In contrast, the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng was trading 0.32% higher at 25,688.41 points during the market session on May 26.

FII activity in Indian markets

NSE data showed that the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) became net buyers on Monday’s market session amid the overall optimism and momentum in the global markets.

FIIs purchased a total of ₹821.75 crore worth of assets across the exchanges, along with domestic investors who bought a total of ₹3,856.88 crore worth of assets during Monday’s trading session.

As of May 25, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have sold a total of ₹31,220 crore worth of assets across the classes so far in the year 2026, according to NSDL data.

Oil prices today

Investors will also keep a close eye on the crude oil prices in the global market, which have cooled 10% in the last five trading sessions over hopes of a potential peace deal between the nations in conflict in West Asia.

At 9:00 am (IST), Brent crude oil prices were trading 1.63% higher at $94.94 per bbl on Tuesday, compared to $93.42 per bbl at the previous commodity market close, according to Investing.com data.

Latest media reports suggest that the US conducted defensive military strikes in the southern Iranian region in an effort to allegedly protect the US troops, who posed a threat from the Iranian forces on Tuesday.

Stocks to watch today

Stocks like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), IRCTC, Gujarat Gas, AstraZeneca Pharma, Authum Investment & Infrastructure, Siemens, EIH, Brainbees Solutions, and JK Tyre and Industries, among others, will be in focus of the market investors on Tuesday as the company will announce their Q4 earnings.

Others like JSW Energy, Global Health, BGR Energy Systems, TVS Supply Chain Solutions, Hitachi Energy India, IRFC, among others, will also be in focus of stock market investors today on specific corporate action.