Why Is Share Market Falling Today, May 18? Selling pressure intensified in the Indian stock market on Monday morning, with weakness visible across large-caps, mid-caps and small-caps. The decline was broad-based,
showing that investors were cutting exposure across sectors amid rising global and domestic concerns.
At around 10:02 am, the Nifty 50 was down 1.19% at 23,363, while the Sensex slipped nearly 900 points to around 74,339.
Midcaps, Smallcaps Under Sharper Pressure
Broader markets saw steeper losses compared to benchmark indices. The Nifty Smallcap 100 fell over 2%, while the Nifty Microcap 250 declined nearly 2.7%, indicating heavy risk-off sentiment among investors.
The Nifty Smallcap 250 was down 2.18%, while the Nifty MidSmallCap 400 slipped 1.84%. This suggests that traders were aggressively exiting higher-risk counters.
Financial Stocks Drag Market Lower
Banking and financial shares remained among the biggest drags on the market.
Nifty Bank fell 1.54% to 52,885, while the Nifty Financial Services index also declined 1.54%. PSU banks witnessed sharper selling pressure, with the Nifty PSU Bank index falling over 2.4%.
Weakness in heavyweight lenders such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank added pressure on benchmark indices.
Consumer, Realty And Auto Stocks Hit Hard
Rate-sensitive sectors remained under pressure amid rising volatility and currency concerns.
Nifty Consumer Durables dropped more than 3%, making it one of the worst-performing sectoral indices. Realty stocks also saw sharp selling, with the Nifty Realty index falling over 2.5%.
Auto stocks remained weak as rising crude oil prices raised concerns over inflation and input costs. The Nifty Auto index slipped nearly 2%.
IT Shows Relative Strength
Unlike most sectors, IT stocks showed resilience during the session. The Nifty IT index was trading slightly higher, up around 0.4%, supported by expectations that a weaker rupee could benefit export-focused technology companies.
Key Reasons Behind The Decline Today
Markets remained under pressure on Monday as escalating US-Iran conflict, rising crude oil prices, a sharp fall in the rupee and growing volatility hurt investor sentiment.
1) Escalating US-Iran Conflict
Escalating geopolitical tensions and the absence of any positive progress in ongoing peace negotiations continue to pressure the Indian stock market.
Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, “Indian equity markets opened with a sharp gap-down amid escalating geopolitical tensions and the absence of any positive progress in ongoing peace negotiations. The continued US-Iran conflict and rising uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have kept global risk sentiment under pressure, leading to broad-based weakness across sectors.”
2) Crude Oil Jumps Above $110
One of the biggest triggers for the fall is the surge in crude oil prices. Brent crude climbed to around $112 per barrel on Monday, hitting a two-week high. Higher oil prices raise concerns over inflation and increase India’s import bill, which usually weighs on markets.
3) Rupee Hits Fresh Record Low
The Indian rupee also slipped to a new all-time low against the US dollar. The currency opened 21 paise weaker at 96.17 per dollar compared to the previous close of 95.96. The rupee had already crossed the psychological 96-per-dollar mark on Friday for the first time. Rising crude prices and fresh geopolitical tensions in West Asia have added pressure on the domestic currency.
4) India VIX Spikes
India VIX, which measures market volatility and investor fear, jumped more than 5.6% to around 19.85. A rise in VIX generally indicates rising nervousness in the market and expectations of sharper swings ahead.
