Market Opening Bell: Sensex drops 119 points, Nifty flat amid renewed geopolitical tensions

Indian equity benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, opened in red on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, amid mixed global cues as renewed geopolitical tensions and unfavourable global macroeconomic cues continue to weigh on overall risk sentiment. While the 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 119.9 points or 0.16 per cent to start the session at 74,559.24, the Nifty shed 17.1 points to open at 23,362.45. In the last trading session, the Sensex closed at 74,559.24 and the Nifty 50 at 23,379.55. However, BSE and NSE bounced back and hit the intraday high of 74,981.34 and 23,503.80, respectively. Similarly, the broader indices traded in the green in the opening session. While the BSE Midcap Select Index gained 47.54 points, the BSE Smallcap Select Index jumped 71.02 points or 0.86 per cent, to trade at 8,355.98.

Meanwhile, volatility remains a major concern for traders. India VIX remained above 19 after rallying sharply over the last two sessions.

“Elevated VIX levels continue to reduce the advantage of theta decay for option sellers, making the current environment more favourable for strict risk management and smaller position sizing until volatility cools down,” said Hariprasad K, SEBI-registered Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth.

From the Sensex pack, Kotak Bank, Tata Steel, ITC, SBIN and Asian Paints were in green with Kotak Bank leading the pack by gaining 0.51 per cent in the early trade. On the other hand, Eternal, Power Grid, Adani Ports, Infosys, and M&M were in the red with Eternal being the top loser by falling over 1,75 per cent. 

Meanwhile, gold and silver prices jumped after the government hiked import duties on gold and silver to 15 per cent from 6 per cent as part of measures to curb inbound shipments of precious metals amid a rising import bill due to the West Asia crisis.

What did Gift Nifty indicate?

Gift Nifty, an early indicator for the Nifty 50, indicated a flat start as it opened with a drop of 23.5 points at 23,399.50, compared to the previous close of 23,423. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the previous session and sold equities worth Rs 1,959.39 crore on May 12. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) remained strong buyers with inflows of Rs 7,990.32 crore.

Asian Markets Today

Asian markets started the session on a weak note as talks between Washington and Tehran remained at a standstill. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by 51.09 points or 0.19 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi traded in the green with a gain of 0.9 per cent at the time of writing the report. Similarly, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index was up 3.73 points or 0.09 per cent.