SENSEX, NIFTY50 close lower as rupee falls below 96/dollar for first time, crude moves above $109 per barrel

The Indian equity benchmarks erased gains and ended lower on Friday, May 15, after rupee hit another record low and breached 96 per dollar mark for the first time while crude oil prices in the international markets spiked above $109 per barrel mark shaking the investor sentiment.

The SENSEX dropped as much as 731 points from the day's highest level and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 23,610 after hitting a high of 23,839 earlier in the session.

The SENSEX ended 161 points lower at 75,238 and NIFTY50 index dropped 45 points to close at 23,643.

The Indian rupee weakened for a third consecutive trading session and for the first time it dropped below the 96-mark against the benchmark US dollar on the backdrop of a high demand for the greenback in the global market over rising uncertainties in West Asia.

The Indian currency was witnessing significant pressure during the session due to a higher demand for dollars in the global market, caused due to US President Trump’s latest signal that the conflict in West Asia will continue.

Nine of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended lower led by the NIFTY Metal index's 1.9% fall. NIFTY PSU Bank, Bank, Financial Services and Oil & Gas indices also dropped between 0.5% and 1.7%.

On the flip side, IT, FMCG and pharma stocks witnessed buying interest.

Broader markets also faced the heat of selling pressure as NIFTY Midcap 100 index dropped 0.45% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index fell 0.61%.

Among the individual shares, Sheela Foam surged as much as as much as 20% to hit an intraday high of ₹652 after it posted a 597.85% increase in its consolidated profit after tax to ₹91.28 crore in the March quarter of the financial year 2025-26. The company had reported a net profit of ₹13.08 crore in the year-ago period, according to an exchange filing.

Revenue from operations stood at ₹1,050.06 crore in January-March 2025-26, up 23.59% year-on-year (YoY) from ₹849.61 crore in the year-ago period.

Great Eastern Shipping Company jumped as much as much as 11% to hit a fresh 52-week high of ₹1,642.75 after the company informed exchanges that it delivered its 2003 built Medium Range Tanker “Jag Pankhi” to the buyers. The vessel was contracted for sale in Q1 FY27.

Hindalco was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 3.5% to close at ₹1,065. Eternal, Nestle India, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Ultratech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra and JSW Steel also declined between 1.4% and 1.96%.

On the other hand, Tata Motors PV was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 5% to settle at ₹356 after it reported a consolidated net profit of ₹5,783 crore, against a net loss in the previous quarter of the year ended 2025-26, in turn fuelling the sentiment on the stock market.

The automaker turning in profits was primarily driven by the strong rise in core revenues to the tune of 50% to ₹1.05 lakh crore, compared to ₹70,108 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal year.

Dr Reddy's Labs, Infosys, Coal India, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid and Maruti Suzuki also advanced between 1.2% and 3%.

The overall market breadth was negative as 2,028 shares ended lower while 1,219 closed higher on the NSE.