It was a day of up-and-downs on Dalal Street, but by the time the session was over, you had your pockets of outperformance to point to. The indices made up some ground, but the real story was in the earnings and what was moving in capital markets. JSW Cement, Honasa, Tata Communications, Sammaan Capital and Trent were among those that drew the most eyes as the day’s best gainers.
The Nifty 50 and the rest of the benchmarks put on some momentum, though it didn’t last. The Nifty 50 wound up 0.40% higher at 23,703 (it was up close to 0.80% at one point) and the Sensex finished at 75,425 for a 0.36% move. Midcaps put in a meagre 0.15%, smallcaps gave back 0.12% – a clear case of being picky about where to put your risk.
If you look at the sectors, the banks and cyclicals did the heavy lifting; Nifty Private Bank, Metal and Bank were all in the green by as much as 1.40%. On the other side, the more defensive names like Nifty Media and Pharma were down a percent or more, with IT and Oil & Gas also in the red.
As for the rupee, it has been on the mend, firming to 95.7 against the dollar after hitting a low of 96.96 on the 20th. Word on the street is the RBI has been offloading some dollars to state-owned banks this month to put a lid on the currency’s slide.
Crude is holding its own with supply worries in the mix. You have the US and Iran at odds, and with that comes the threat of disruption. Trump has said we’ll be making sure of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile in due course, and they have made it known they won’t be giving it up.
Earnings and events set the winners apart
There was no mistaking the corporate triggers for those in the know on Tuesday. Minda Corporation was the standout, up 9% to 585. Then you have JSW Cement, which hiked 8.5% to 138.3, in step with the kind of strength you see in the metals and industrial space when the cycle is in your favour.
Consumer and retail in focus
Honasa put on 6% on the back of its best operating profit and PAT since it went public, and to top it off, a first-time 3 per share dividend for FY26. It’s a way for an FMCG to make a statement in a room full of competitors.
Tata Communications is up another 3.2% to 1,959, and Sammaan Capital is 5% higher at 162 as long as there is demand for credit, people are interested in these financials. They are the kind of plays where you can see the path forward even if the market is jumpy.
And the EMS trade is still in vogue: Kaynes and Dixon are up 5% and 4% to show for it.
GAIL (India) put in a 2.8% move to 160 on the back of its Q4 numbers, with some investors making a play for energy as the earnings picture looks up.
Then there’s Firstsource Solutions, which is up 6% to 270 for a fourth day in a row. You could see some buying in new-age tech as well; Meesho and Lenskart Solutions were among those to finish 3% or more in the green, a sign that digital-first consumer brands are still in vogue.
It wasn’t just Honasa making waves. Trent was one of the standouts, with some good discretionary feeling behind it. You also had Capri Global Capital, Shriram Finance, Page Industries, 3M India, Force Motors and Concord Biotech all to the tune of 2.5% or better, pointing to a shift into some of the better-run franchises in the space.
On the other side of the tape
The damage was done where you’d expect: soft earnings and supply hiccups. Take Engineers India, for instance. A letdown of a March quarter and they were down 9% to 216. The market has little patience for a miss.
Central Bank of India was 8% in the red after the government put out an offer for sale to offload as much as an 8% stake at a discount. It put a damper on things, even if the rest of the PSU bank pack was holding its own.
Max Healthcare Institute gave up 6.2% to 1,023 post-Q4. Pharma as a whole was under pressure: Glenmark and Aurobindo were over 5% lower, and Eris Lifesciences was 3% down to 1,343.
We saw some fallout from deal-making too. Pine Labs and Paytm were 3.7% and 3.6% off after some big block trades. Great Eastern Shipping and the Shipping Corporation of India each fell 3.6%. Sai Life Sciences, Vijaya Diagnostic, Thermax, LG Electronics India and Deepak Nitrite were 2.5% in the hole.
What we’re left with at the close
May 22 made one thing clear: the index may be holding up, but there’s a chasm opening up between the doers and the ones who can’t hit their numbers or have supply issues. That’s what’s creating the kind of moves that make for some good stock-picking.
If you read between the lines of today’s tussle, the message is plain:
– Good earnings get you a premium
– OFS and block deals put a lid on some of the upside
– Banks and metals are in the driver’s seat
– Not so much for pharma and media
– A steady rupee is a plus for now
– But oil is still a risk
Right now, the money is in banks, industrials and a few consumer names. If the RBI keeps the rupee around 95.7 to the dollar, it could take some of the sting out of imported inflation and keep risk appetite in check, though with crude where it is, watchlists are being managed carefully.
Looking ahead
Come next session, we’ll be watching to see if the run in Honasa, Tata Comms and JSW Cement has any legs, and how the Central Bank of India OFS ripples through the PSU space. The bottom line is, you need a catalyst these days.
