Sensex, Nifty: 5 reasons why stock market is falling today; Tata Steel, SBI shares hit hard

Stock market today, Sensex, Nifty:  Update at noon - By 12 pm, the domestic indices trimmed losses, with the BSE Sensex now down 496.96 points or 0.66 per cent at 74,741.03. Nifty recovered to 23,474.65 and was down 168.85 points or 0.71 per cent. The market recovery was seen despite Asian peers staying deep in the red. 

Market update at 10 am 

Boiling crude oil prices, rising US bond yields, a fresh warning to Iran by US President Donald Trump that intensified geopolitical tensions, an Asian equity selloff and a record-low rupee weighing on foreign flows are the five key reasons why the market is falling on Monday, May 18, 2026. At 10.05 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 74,334.75, down 903.24 points or 1.20 per cent. Nifty stood at 23,360, down 283.20 points or 1.20 per cent. India VIX, which gives a cue on likely volatility in the market over the next 30 days, climbed 5.49 per cent to 19.82. Tata Steel, Power Grid, State Bank of India, Eternal and Shriram Finance led Nifty losers, falling 3-5 per cent. 

Trump's fresh warning
The clock is ticking, Trump warned Iran as he sought a better proposal from the Iranian side, as per an Axios report, else Iran could attract harder strikes, the report suggested.

Brent oil prices soar
Sensing tensions, Brent crude oil for July delivery rose 1.84 per cent to hit a high of $111.29 a barrel. The 10-year US bond yield, which has inverse relationship with risky assets like emerging markets, climbed 0.6 per cent to 4.626.  

Asian equities tumble
Asian equities tumbled in the absence of initiatives to open the Strait of Hormuz, with market across China, Hong Kong and Japan falling 1-1.4 per cent. Indonesia saw its Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite plunging 4.5 per cent. 

US bond yields, rupee at record low
Rupee hit a record low of 96.20 against the dollar today. The spike in US 10-year bond yield to 4.62 per cent is another negative factor for EM equity markets.

"Rupee may further depreciate aggravating the vicious cycle of rupee depreciation and FPI selling.  Some measures to strengthen the rupee are due and likely soon," said Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.  

Analysts see global disruption impacting Indian households and markets. 

Elara said the recent petrol and diesel price hike after more than three years indicates that the government has started allowing partial consumer pass-through above the $100 a barrel crude price environment. 

Emkay Global, which recently said Nifty can hit 21,000, on Monday warned of significant downside risk for the Indian stock market until the Gulf conflict eases and the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) reopens. 
The brokerage believes the volatility around the SoH may keep Brent crude prices elevated at $105-110 per barrel, raising concerns over India’s macro-financial stability. 

Prolonged pressure on the current account deficit (CAD) and sustained foreign portfolio investor (FPI) selling are beginning to weigh on domestic markets, it said.

Data compiled from NDSL showed foreign outflows in May stood at Rs 27,048 crore, taking 2026 outflows to Rs 2,19,017 crore so far.  

Stocks react to weak global cues

Among Nifty names, Power Grid declined 4.14 per cent to Rs 293.20. Tata Steel slipped 4.06 per cent to Rs 208.03. Eternal dropped 2.7 per cent, while Shriram Finance, Trent and State Bank of India fell up to 3 per cent.

Among other stocks in news, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd fell 9 per cent after the life insurer said a 75 per cent stake acquisition in Bharti Life Insurance Company by promoter Prudential would require it to cut its shareholding in the listed company to under 10 per cent.  The stock fell 8.64 per cent to hit a low of Rs 489 on BSE, extending its year-to-date losses to 26.29 per cent. 

Vodafone Idea fell 2.01 per cent to Rs 12.69. The stock fell after the telecom operator declared a profit of Rs 51,986 crore for the March quarter,  largely driven by Rs 57,491 crore exception items.