BSE Sensex closed at 75,200.85, down 114.19 points or 0.15 per cent. 

Strengthening its footprint in the rapidly expanding NCR real estate market, NCR based Karyan Group has announced the launch of its luxury residential project, Trevana Residences, strategically located on NH-24, opposite Wave City, Ghaziabad. The company will invest 900 crore and targeting an estimated revenue of nearly Rs 1,500 crore from the development, reflecting growing demand for premium residences in emerging NCR micro-markets.

Designed to offer a blend of luxury, connectivity, and future-ready urban living, Trevana Residences will feature thoughtfully planned 3 and 4 BHK luxury residences with modern amenities, expansive layouts, and sustainable infrastructure. The project is positioned to cater to affluent home buyers and investors looking for premium housing options in the high-growth NH-24 corridor.

BLS E-Services Limited (BLSe), a technology-enabled digital service provider, announced its consolidated audited financial results for the quarter and full year period ended 31st March 2026.  

Speaking about the performance and recent updates, Mr. Shikhar Aggarwal, Chairman, BLS E-Services Ltd. said: "BLS E-Services reported a remarkable performance during Q4 & FY26, as Total Income grew by 34.1 per cent YoY in Q4FY26 and 109.7 per cent YoY in FY26, backed by a strong growth across its core businesses and increasing scale of its assisted digital & citizen service offerings.

We are proud to have crossed the Rs 1,000 Crore annual revenue milestone, along with achieving EBITDA of approximately Rs 100 Crores, driven by a robust business performance, inorganic initiatives, strong gross transaction value of Rs 1.11 lakh+ Crores, during the year. This performance reflects the continued strength and scalability of our business model, as well as our ability to capture growth opportunities across markets.

The rupee slumped 11 paise to a new low of 96.47 against the US dollar. It settled at 96.36 a dollar on Monday. 

Women in the 18-24 age bracket spend up to 47 per cent more time on commerce apps than men, making them one of the most valuable user groups. Read full report here

Persistent Systems (BSE: 533179 and NSE: PERSISTENT), a global Digital Engineering and Enterprise Modernization leader, announced that it has been recognized as a 2026 Google Cloud Partner of the Year in the Services & Industry Solutions - Supply Chain & Logistics category. The recognition highlights Persistent's ability to modernize supply chain operations on Google Cloud, helping enterprises improve visibility, accelerate decision-making and deploy AI-driven capabilities in production environments.

Enterprises across manufacturing and retail are re-architecting supply chains to become more resilient and intelligent. Yet legacy systems and fragmented data continue to limit visibility, slow decisions and constrain automation. Persistent addresses these challenges by modernizing core systems on the Google Cloud ecosystem to create a unified, cloud-native data foundation that supports intelligent orchestration across planning, inventory and logistics operations. This foundation enables organizations to operationalize AI across the supply chain lifecycle, spanning demand forecasting, inventory optimization, logistics management, and exception resolution through integrated data platforms, automation and intelligent agents.

Following recent LPG booking fraud incidents in Mumbai, cybercriminals allegedly duped more than 100 Mahanagar Gas Ltd consumers of nearly Rs 2.7 crore through fake booking links and malicious applications. mFilterIt identified more than 5,000 scam accounts and fraudulent digital assets actively targeting consumers across platforms - exposing just how organised, and how hidden, this threat has become.

Unlike traditional financial scams that rely on lucrative offers or investment traps, LPG booking scams exploit necessity and routine consumer behaviour. Fraudsters are embedding themselves into everyday digital interactions where trust is often assumed, and verification is overlooked due to urgency.

The fraud model typically begins with panic-driven messages around gas disconnections, limited stock availability, or urgent KYC verification requests circulated across SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and social media platforms. Users are then redirected to fake booking websites and lookalike landing pages designed to closely imitate legitimate LPG service providers. In several cases, fraudsters reportedly used malicious APK files to gain remote access to users' mobile devices and steal banking credentials. In one reported Mumbai incident, a 73-year-old retired central excise superintendent was allegedly defrauded of Rs 3.77 lakh after cybercriminals posing as gas company representatives manipulated him into installing a malicious application under the pretext of bill verification.

The Retail Rupee is no longer just a pilot project. According to recent reports, it has crossed Rs 34,000 crore in transactions nationwide. Read full report here

According to recent reports, Retail Rupee has crossed Rs 34,000 crore in transactions nationwide. It works differently than UPI. Read full report here

Bakers say the reason behind the price hike is simple: everything that goes into making and delivering bread now costs more. Read full report here

India's largest amusement and water park operator has approved a strategic investment of up to Rs 100 crore in Shanku's Water Park, a leading leisure destination in Mehsana, Gujarat, near Ahmedabad. 

These developments mark Imagicaa's strategic expansion beyond destination parks into scalable, high-margin formats. The company recently announced its Q4FY26 results where revenue from operations stood at Rs 91.9 crore with a significant increase in footfalls by 5% year-on-year to 6.21 lakh visitors, while continuing to witness steady consumer demand across its existing parks.

The Thesis

With Brent at $110, VIX above 18, FIIs out ₹25,984cr month-to-date, and GIFT Nifty signalling a soft open after two consecutive down sessions on Wall Street, the book today is a clean risk-off rotation. Pharma, telecom infrastructure, and large-cap IT export - the three classic defensives - carry the conviction.

Where We're Concentrated

Five of sixteen signal names sit in pharma - the heaviest sectoral tilt this month. Telecom adds three more, IT contributes the highest-conviction large cap. The thesis breaks if crude cracks below $100 or VIX collapses through 16: a relief rally would rotate flows back into financials and high-beta, and this defensive book would lag.

Conviction Picks

Indus TowersHighest Conviction

Telecom infrastructure with predictable cash flows and zero crude or FII sensitivity - the cleanest hedge against a soft open with VIX north of 18.

Apollo HospitalsHighest Conviction

Domestic healthcare demand is secular and currency-insulated - precisely what works when FIIs are the marginal seller.

TCSHighest Conviction

INR weakness driven by the crude bid makes large-cap IT export the natural offset; defensive money flows here first.

Cipla

Anchors the pharma cluster - US generics pricing stability and the INR tailwind both work in the same direction.

SAIL

The lone cyclical with conviction - China stimulus and domestic infra spend keep steel bid even in a risk-off tape.

One Thing to Watch

Trigger

Brent crude. A move below $105 unlocks high-beta and undermines the pharma/IT defensive book. A push to $115 confirms it. The session pivots on the evening settlement.

Petrol, Diesel Price Today: Just four days after a Rs 3 per litre hike, petrol and diesel prices were raised by another 90 paise on Tuesday morning. Read full report here

Petrol, Diesel Price Today: The latest hike in the prices of petrol and diesel comes just three days after the previous revision of Rs 3 on May 15. Read full report here

At the close on Monday (May 18), the total market cap of all BSE Sensex companies stood at Rs 4,58,01,346.