Gaurav Garg, Research Analyst Lemonn Markets Desk

The Indian stock market ended on a positive note today, with the Nifty 50 closing at 24340.95, up 33.04 points or 0.14%. The session was characterized by a  Rising wedge  pattern as the index opened at 23362.4, reached a high of 23582.95, and touched a low of 23262.55. The BSE Sensex also climbed, finishing the day at 74608.98, reflecting a gain of 49.73 points or 0.06%.

Sector-wise, the market showed a mixed trend with a slight positive bias. Metal stocks outperformed significantly, leading the gains, followed by strength in Construction, Oil & Gas, and Cement, indicating buying interest in cyclical sectors. Healthcare, FMCG, Chemicals, and IT-related segments also witnessed mild gains, supporting the broader market. On the downside, Auto and IT sectors faced notable selling pressure, while Banking indices including PSU and Private Banks, along with Realty and Media, remained under slight pressure due to profit booking. Overall, the sectoral performance reflected selective buying with a tilt towards metals and infrastructure-driven themes.

The rebound was also supported by relatively stable global cues, helping reduce immediate downside pressure. However, gains remained limited due to elevated crude oil prices raising inflation concerns and continued FII outflows, which kept the overall market sentiment cautious and led to a selective, measured upmove rather than a strong broad-based rally.

Code on Wages (Central) Rules: Under the new provision, the condensed work week typically could mean 12-hour workdays for four days. Read full report here

India imports 15-16 million tonnes ofedible oil annually because farmers see oilseeds as "risky" crops. Read full report here

Saurabh Mangrulkar, Founder and CEO of EventBeep

"For students the NEET exam is not a test. It's years of hard work, sacrifice, discipline and dreams. When exams get cancelled it affects more than their studies. Students feel emotionally drained, anxious and unsure about their future. They put in months or even years of preparation under a lot of pressure. Young people already face competition and stress about their careers. Situations like these can really hurt their confidence and mental health. It's crucial to make sure exams are fair and transparent. Its also important to consider how these disruptions affect students emotionally. Students need a system they can trust. One that values their efforts and ensures honest students don't suffer because of problems with the system. Now the priority should be to give students clear information, reassurance and a smoother path forward. This way they can focus on their future with confidence."

Parmod Sagar, Chairman & CEO RHI Magnesita India Ltd

As a global company, RHI Magnesita already follows a hybrid work model at the corporate level, with business travel optimised in line with evolving business needs and geopolitical developments. Aligned with the Hon'ble Prime Minister's appeal, there is a renewed emphasis towards strengthening digital collaboration and leveraging technology to streamline operations while ensuring productivity and business continuity.

Tide, the UK's leading business management platform for SMEs, has revealed new hiring insights showing how scaling companies is as much a talent challenge as it is a technology one - with the quality of hiring decisions emerging as a critical driver of growth.

As Tide grows its platform to over 1.8 million small businesses, its FY 2025-26 data shows what it takes to build strong teams at scale. The company hired over 1,280 employees, with an average time to hire of just over 55 days, climbing to 80 days for critical roles across product, technology, and operations.

This aligns with broader global trends. Insights from talent recruiting platforms, SHRM, Josh Bersin, and Glassdoor, suggest that it takes around 44 days on average to hire, with specialised roles taking longer. This shows the increasing complexity of talent acquisition in high-growth sectors. Tide's data shows over 40% of roles see changes or backfills over time, reflecting evolving business needs, role recalibration, and the realities of scaling in a dynamic market.

India Green Energy: Amid PM Modi's push for fuel conservation, India's renewable generation capacity has risen 20% year-on-year. Read full report here

DecisionX, a Bengaluru-based Decision AI company building decision infrastructure for Strategy and Analytics teams, today announced that the DecisionX Agent has ranked 2 globally on Spider 2.0 Lite, the most rigorous public benchmark for enterprise database reasoning. The result was posted on the public leaderboard on April 29, 2026, with a score of 71.84.

DecisionX is the only Indian company in the global top 10. Every other entry is either a large technology corporation with a dedicated AI research division or a specialised academic lab, including JetBrains, Tencent, Samsung SDS Research America, Snowflake, and Tsinghua

University. It is the highest finish for an Indian enterprise AI company on a benchmark of this complexity to date.

Prashant Mishra, CEO and Founder, Agnam advisor

Investing in Uncertain Times: Making Sense of War, AI, and Market Shifts

We are living through a difficult period where several risks are hitting at the same time. The war involving Iran has disturbed global energy supply. Artificial intelligence is beginning to change the structure of white-collar work, especially in technology. And underneath all this, the global economy is already dealing with slower growth, inflation worries, trade uncertainty, and uneven demand. For investors, this can create a strong urge to react quickly. But this is usually the time when calm thinking becomes most valuable.

This is not a situation where one headline alone changes everything. It is a phase where many moving parts can affect each other. A war can raise oil prices. Higher oil can weaken currencies and raise inflation. Slower hiring in technology can affect spending in major cities. Weak confidence can then spill into housing and consumption. That is why investors need to look beyond the first impact and understand the chain reaction.

Laxmi Dental Limited today announced the launch of 'i Scope360', a fully integrated AI-connected remote dental monitoring ecosystem that combines aligner tracking, oral health assessment, and virtual consultations into one connected platform. The launch is aimed at solving some of the biggest operational, accessibility, and patient engagement challenges currently faced by the dental industry while making dental care more convenient, connected, and scalable for both clinics and consumers. Developed and manufactured in India using dental-grade materials, the platform is designed to support digitally connected treatment workflows for both Indian and global clinical requirements. The company estimates that i Scope360 can help reduce physical follow-up visits by up to 30-50 per cent and improve treatment compliance by nearly 20-30 per cent through remote monitoring, virtual supervision, and connected patient engagement.

LinkedIn finds that 90 per cent of reported scam attempts try to move candidates away from the platform to private messaging apps. Read full report here

The Thesis

With VIX punching back toward 20, FIIs in their fourth heavy session of selling, and Brent stuck near $107 on persistent Hormuz risk, the book is rotating decisively into defensives. Pharma is doing double duty - earnings insulated from VIX, USD-revenue tailwind from a softer rupee, and immune to the crude squeeze hitting industrial cyclicals. The commodity sleeve (metals, coal, oil) is positioned to capture the inflation pass-through rather than fight it.

Where We're Concentrated

Pharma and healthcare carry seven of thirteen conviction names - the heaviest single-theme tilt this month. Energy and commodity producers form the second cluster. The thesis breaks if Brent cracks below $95 (kills the commodity leg) or if global risk appetite snaps back and FIIs reverse on a single dovish Fed line (defensives derate first).

Conviction Picks

Highest Conviction

Vodafone Idea

A high-beta domestic re-rating candidate that decouples cleanly from FII selling and crude risk - pure India consumption signal.

Defensive Anchor

Biocon

Tied for top conviction - USD-revenue biosimilars play that benefits from rupee weakness while being insulated from the VIX spike.

Commodity Lead

Vedanta

Captures the inflation-pass-through trade - base metals and zinc earnings expand precisely when Brent and INR are pressuring everyone else.

Laurus Labs

Reinforces the pharma cluster with momentum signal - API and CDMO exposure adds an export-earnings hedge against domestic risk-off.

Coal India

High-yield PSU that absorbs the energy-inflation narrative while paying you to wait - a textbook defensive cyclical for this regime.

One Thing to Watch

Brent at $107 with Hormuz still contested. A break above $112 forces a defensive re-rating across the metals/energy sleeve. A clean break below $100 invalidates the commodity leg and rotates conviction back to financials.

BTC briefly dipped below $80K before buyers stepped in, helping the market recover above $80.5K and indicating that near-term support remains active. While price action remains range bound, broader market attention is shifting toward macro developments. The release of the Senate's Clarity Act draft and signs of improving US-China relations through Trump's planned Beijing visit are being followed by the market, including crypto. For Investors, this is not a market environment where being fully deployed is necessary. Maintaining liquidity gives flexibility if markets see deeper corrections or panic-driven selloffs.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds has submitted a comprehensive proposal to the Government of India recommending strategic enhancements to the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), expressing its wholehearted support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal on responsible gold consumption and the need to strengthen India's economic resilience through better utilisation of domestic gold resources.

Rajesh Palviya, Head of Research, Axis Direct.

The Nifty dropped 436 points yesterday to settle at 23,379.6, marking its fourth consecutive daily loss and a Rs 12-lakh-crore wipeout in investor wealth. Technically, the session's candle was long, bearish, and ended near the lows - showing weak behaviour that decisively broke the 23,800-24,400 consolidation band. Wall Street finished mixed overnight after a hotter-than-expected 3.8% April CPI print, which pushed the Nasdaq 0.7% lower, while the Dow posted small gains; rate-cut bets have diminished. Brent surged near $107 on Iran supply fears, gold held steady around $4,700. Asian futures are soft this morning, and GIFT Nifty indicates a flat open. The battle lines are clear: 23,300 is immediate support, with 23,100-23,000 as the next zone, while bulls need a daily close above 23,500 for any recovery. Unless and until 23,800 is reclaimed, the bias remains bearish. The broader market saw substantial selling pressure, and one can adopt a sell-on-rise strategy until the Nifty surpasses the 23500-23600 level.

Company Reports Strong Q4 & FY26 Performance; Profit Before Tax Rises to Rs 368.58 Crore 

Anant Raj Limited delivered a strong financial performance for Q4 and FY26, driven by robust operational momentum and sustained growth across its real estate portfolio. Additionally, the company announced the appointment of Anish Sarin, Grandson of Ashok Sarin as Director, signalling the induction of next-generation leadership, alongside the constitution of a committee to evaluate potential merger/demerger structures and recommend a strategic roadmap for future growth. 

The company reported significant growth in profitability and strengthened its balance sheet during the year, supported by improved cash flows and healthy investor confidence following the successful QIP raise of approximately Rs. 1,100 crore. For FY26, the company's total assets increased to Rs. 5,590.55 crore from Rs. 4,346.27 crore in FY25, while cash and cash equivalents surged to Rs. 806.90 crore, reflecting enhanced financial strength and liquidity. The Board also recommended a final dividend of Re. 1 per equity share for FY26. 

FY 2026 was characterized by major geo political disruptions starting with the Pahalgam attack & Operation Sindoor in April 2025 with consequent closures of airspace and poor travel sentiment and ended with the onset of the Israel-US-Iran conflict in February 2026 with its continued negative impact on westward bound flights, traveller confidence, limited supply/ rising fuel costs and a rapidly depreciating Rupee Vs major currencies like the USD, Euro and Pound. 

These successive disruptions also coincided with the peak summer booking and travel seasons, resulting in a severely impacted & truncated selling and travel period and also had a cascading price impact with 

significantly higher flight, hotel and travel-related costs affecting leisure, MICE and Business Travel.  

Thomas Cook Standalone PBT (before exceptional items) for FY26 grew by 2% to Rs. 1,690 million as compared to Rs 1,650 million in FY25, despite the challenging environment. 

At the close on Tuesday (May 12), the total market cap of all BSE Sensex companies stood at Rs 4,56,02,922.