Stock markets are heading for a sharp downturn once again. US President Donald Trump has issued a fresh threat, warning that the clock is ticking for Iran and that it must move fast or face severe consequences if it does not comply with the agreement. Iran, too, has asked to be prepared for a heavy retaliation.
The Middle East is in a state where war could resume any day. Crude oil prices rose above $111. Amid war fears, gold slumped and the Dollar surged. Asian markets and US market futures are down significantly.
In the derivative trading at GIFT City, GIFT Nifty closed at 23,662.00 on Friday night. This morning, it dropped to 23,508. This indicates that Nifty will open with a substantial loss today.
US President Donald Trump’s visit to China ending without any crucial gains and the brewing fear of a renewed attack on Iran dragged the American markets into losses on Friday. The crash became absolute as profit booking hit technology stocks. Nvidia, Intel, AMD, and Micron dropped by more than 4%. Signaling a potential interest rate hike, the yield on 30-year bonds crossed 5%.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 537.29 points (1.07%) to close at 49,526.17. The S&P 500 ended at 7,408.50, down 92.74 points (1.24%). The Nasdaq composite index closed at 26,225.15, down 410.08 points (1.54%).
US Futures are trading lower this morning. Dow Jones is down by 344 points (0.69%), S&P 500 is down by 41 points (0.56%), and Nasdaq is moving down by 200 points (0.68%).
In New York on Friday, HDFC Bank ADR fell 1.57% and remained unchanged at $24.45 in extended trading. ICICI Bank ADR fell 0.50% during regular hours but rose 0.19% to end at $26.10 in extended trading. Infosys ADR rose 3.52% but slid 0.25% in extended trading to close at $12.04. Wipro rose 2.16% and gained another 0.38% in extended trading to finish at $1.897.
Rising inflation and political uncertainty dragged European shares down by around two percent on Friday. In the UK, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham came out against Prime Minister Keir Starmer within the Labour Party, intensifying internal party infighting.
Asian markets are facing heavy losses today. In Japan, the Nikkei index fell 1.7%. South Korea’s Kospi started trading 2% lower. On Friday, the Kospi index hit a record high by crossing 8,000 but then crashed 6%, with technology stocks suffering the biggest blow. The Australian index fell 1.35%. The Hong Kong index is down 1.10%, and the Shanghai market is down 0.30%.
After an initial strong surge, the Indian market turned downward on Friday. This was triggered by Trump’s China visit ending without any breakthroughs, fears of the Iran war resuming, rising oil prices, and the fall of the Rupee. Despite several adverse conditions, funds and financial institutions are careful to prevent the market from crashing. Reports suggested tax concessions would be given to foreign funds buying Indian bonds, but nothing has materialised.
Banking, finance, metal, realty, oil, and defence sectors declined on Friday. IT, media, pharma, and healthcare sectors advanced.
Most gold stocks continued their losses, with PN Gadgil plunging 10%.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained buyers on Friday as well. They made a net purchase of ₹1,329.17 crore in the cash market. Domestic investors made sales worth ₹1,958.82 crore. So far in May, foreign investors have pulled out ₹27,028 crore from the Indian market. In 2026 so far, they have withdrawn ₹2.2 lakh crore, which is 33% higher than the total withdrawal of ₹1.66 lakh crore in 2025.
On Friday, the Sensex fell 160.73 points (0.21%) to close at 75,237.99. The Nifty50 rose 46.10 points (0.19%) to finish at 23,643.50. Bank Nifty closed at 53,710.35, down 418.60 points (0.77%). The Midcap 100 index ended at 60,567.15, down 272.55 points (0.45%). The Smallcap 100 index closed at 17,882.60, down 108.95 points (0.61%).
In the broader market, the majority of stocks were in the red. On the BSE, 1,619 stocks advanced while 2,566 declined. On the NSE, 1,211 stocks rose while 2,012 crashed.
Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea swung to a net profit of ₹51,970 crore in the fourth quarter. The company was able to show a one-time income of ₹51,976 crore by recalculating its AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) liability and the present value of future dues. In the previous quarter, the company had incurred a loss of ₹5,286 crore. The company decided to issue preferential warrants worth ₹4,730 crore, convertible into equity, to its promoter Aditya Birla Group. Aditya Birla Group chief Kumar Mangalam Birla had recently taken over as the chairman of the company.
Steps have begun to merge Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) into Power Finance Corporation (PFC). The PFC CMD has been authorised to submit the application to the President.
Tata Steel post higher-than-expected net profit in the fourth quarter. While revenue increased by 13% to ₹63,270 crore, net profit surged 125% to ₹2,926 crore.
The government has granted permission to Emirates NBD to increase its stake in RBL Bank from 49% to 74%.
The government has allowed the IPO and listing of Coal India’s subsidiary, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited.
Cochin Shipyard improved its profit margins in the fourth quarter, though revenue and net profit declined. While turnover fell 15.6% to ₹1,484 crore, net profit dropped 3.7% to ₹276 crore.
Steel Authority of India (SAIL) increased its fourth-quarter net profit by 46.7% to reach ₹1,836 crore.
Gold is moving downward amid concerns that the US might attack Iran again. On Friday, gold fluctuated within the $4,511–$4,669 range per ounce before closing at $4,541.20, down $111.80. This morning, gold dropped to $4,480 per ounce before recovering to $4,530.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold price fell by ₹3,960 per sovereign to ₹1,15,080 on Friday.
Silver prices plunged nine percent on Friday to close at $76.09 per ounce. This morning, it dropped further to $74.72.
Platinum stands at $1,960, Palladium at $1,377, and Rhodium at $9,325.
The lack of major agreements in the US-China summit and fears of the war restarting dragged industrial metals down. Copper fell 3.09% to stand at $13,553.40. Aluminium fell 2.27% to ₹3,572.35. Nickel, lead, and zinc also declined. Tin plummeted 10%.
Rubber prices fell in the international market on Friday. In Bangkok, RSS 3 reached $293.40 per quintal. RSS 1 touched $296.90. In Kerala, the RSS 4 variety is at ₹26,200.
Cocoa prices fell for the fourth consecutive day in the international market. The price reached $4,002.00 per ton, down 4.46%. The price drop was driven by Ivory Coast increasing its production estimate for the 2025-26 season from 1.9 million tons to 2.2 million tons.
The US Dollar Index rose on Friday to close at 99.28. This morning, it climbed to reach 99.37.
The Euro fell to $1.1611, and the Pound Sterling dropped to $1.3306. The Japanese Yen weakened to 158.88 yen per dollar.
The Chinese Yuan depreciated to 6.81 yuan per dollar.
In the US, the 10-year bond yield rose to 4.51% this morning.
On Friday, the Dollar rose above 96 rupees. After hitting ₹96.14, it dropped to close at ₹95.97 following dollar sales by the Reserve Bank of India. Although there were indications that measures would be announced over the weekend to bring more foreign exchange into the country, nothing has happened. Therefore, it is expected that the Rupee will remain under pressure today as well. The rising dollar index will also weaken the Rupee.
In the offshore Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) market, the Dollar rose to ₹96.02 this morning before moving to ₹95.99. The Chinese Yuan fell to ₹14.09. The Euro dropped to ₹111.44.
Crude oil, which surged four percent on Friday, gained another two percent this morning. Brent crude closed at $109.26 per barrel on Friday. This morning, Brent rose to $111.29. WTI crude reached $107.90. UAE's Murban crude is at $108.00.
Cryptocurrencies declined again. Bitcoin dropped below $76,900 this morning. Ether stays below $2,100, and Solana is below $85.
(Friday, May 15, 2026)
