Opening Bell : Markets likely to make positive start amid optimistic global cues
Indian equity markets are likely to make positive start on Thursday, tracking firm global cues. Traders are likely to take some support amid optimism over a possible easing of Middle East tensions after President Trump said that the US is in the ‘final stages’ of reaching a deal with Iran. However, cautiousness may come as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers on May 20, 2026, with a net outflow of Rs 1,597.35 crore.
Some of the key factors to be watched:
Core infrastructure sectors' output grows 1.7% in April: The government data showed that production growth in eight core infrastructure sectors rose to a two-month high of 1.7% in April, driven by higher output of steel, cement and electricity.
India, Italy upgrade ties to 'Special Strategic Partnership': The report said that India and Italy have upgraded their ties to a special strategic partnership, firmed up a defence industrial roadmap, and vowed to expand annual trade to 20 billion euro by 2029, as Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Giorgia Meloni held wide-ranging talks to enhance bilateral relations in the face of increasing geopolitical upheavals.
RBI to conduct $5 billion USD/INR swap auction on May 26: The Reserve Bank will conduct a $5 billion USD-INR buy and sell swap auction next week to inject long-term liquidity in the banking system.
India needs to raise R&D spending to 2% of GDP by 2035 to boost manufacturing: The Careedge Ratings in its report has said that India's manufacturing growth is constrained by low spending on research and development (R&D) at just 0.6% of GDP, and it should increase its expenditure to 2 per cent by 2035.
India-US economic ties: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, and both had discussions on deepening India-US Economic and Financial Partnership. They also discussed on India-US Fin-Tech collaboration, investment opportunities and bilateral cooperation.
Global front: The US markets ended higher on Wednesday as oil prices and Treasury yields fell amid growing optimism over a possible easing of Middle East tensions. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight.
Back home, Indian equity benchmarks recovered all intraday losses and ended marginally higher on Wednesday on fag-end buying in Power, Capital Goods and Energy stocks. However, gains remain capped as persistent rupee weakness and elevated crude prices continued to weigh on sentiment due to concerns around inflation and margin pressures. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 117.54 points or 0.16% to 75,318.39 and the CNX Nifty was up by 41.00 points or 0.17% to 23,659.00.
Some of the important factors in trade:
Indian businesses should transform global uncertainties into growth prospects: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that Indian businesses should transform the current global economic uncertainties into growth prospects and avoid panicking over the situation.
India-EU FTA to help attract investments, boost auto manufacturing in India: Additional Secretary in the commerce ministry Darpan Jain has said that the India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will help attract more investments into India and will result in more manufacturing of automobiles in India and exporting to third countries.
UN revises India’s economic growth forecast downward to 6.4% for 2026 amid global uncertainties: Citing global uncertainties and economic shocks arising from the ongoing West Asia crisis, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has revised its economic growth forecast for India downward to 6.4% for 2026 from its earlier projection of 6.6%, highlighting the impact of higher energy import costs and tighter financial conditions.
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