Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start of June month, mirroring gains in Asian peers and amid little sign of progress in US-Iran ceasefire negotiations. US President Donald Trump reportedly said that Washington is seeking a deal with Iran in which Tehran would never acquire nuclear weapons. Investors were also tracking positive cues such as the start of the four-day long India-US trade negotiations. Sensex and Nifty soon trimmed some of their opening gains and were trading marginally higher in early deals. The indices witnessed selling pressure from foreign investors due to MSCI’s index rebalancing moves. During Friday’s trading session last week, foreign investors sold a whopping Rs 21,105 crore worth of assets from the Indian stock market in a single day across the exchanges. Markets participants also remained on sidelines ahead of final HSBC Manufacturing PMI data to be out later in the day.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher as the boom in all things AI continued to drive demand. Meanwhile, Markets in Singapore and Indonesia are close on account of holiday.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74886.29, up by 110.55 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 74856.92 and 75367.93. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.69%, TECK up by 1.86%, Telecom up by 1.01%, Energy up by 0.48% and Metal up by 0.38%, while Power down by 1.56%, Capital Goods down by 1.26%, Utilities down by 1.00%, Industrials down by 0.80% and FMCG down by 0.71% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 3.79%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.26%, Interglobe Aviation up by 2.66%, TCS up by 2.22% and Asian Paints up by 1.90%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.64%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.47%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.26%, Bharat Electronics down by 0.90% and Eternal down by 0.90% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry, in its latest Monthly Economic Review, has said that the near-term outlook for the Indian economy is one of cautious resilience. It added that, with a below-normal monsoon forecast and a likely moderation in economic activity, overall consumption demand may face headwinds in the coming months. However, the ministry noted that domestic fundamentals remain broadly intact, manufacturing and services PMIs are in expansionary territory, the labour market is stable, and foreign exchange reserves provide meaningful insulation against external shocks.
At the same time, it said the global environment has become materially more challenging since the onset of the West Asia conflict, with elevated crude prices, tightening financial conditions, and weakening growth momentum across major economies posing headwinds that India cannot fully insulate itself from. The West Asia conflict has emerged as a major shock to the already fragile global recovery, with its effects increasingly visible across energy markets, supply chains, trade routes and global financial conditions. It said elevated energy, transportation and logistics costs have revived inflationary pressures and renewed stagflation concerns across major economies.
It said the Indian economy maintained its growth momentum in April 2026, with E-way bill generation, PMI indices and electricity consumption remaining in expansionary territory. However, the moderation in the Eight Core Industries Index and fuel consumption signals that global headwinds are gradually finding their way into select segments of domestic activity. On the inflation outlook, it warrants vigilance. The current divergence between retail inflation and wholesale prices signals that upstream cost pressures are building, and the passthrough to consumers, while limited so far, may not be far behind. The recent hike in petrol and diesel prices may activate direct and indirect transmission channels, and any further escalation in energy prices could narrow the existing cushion more quickly than anticipated. It also said a deficient monsoon could add food price pressures on top of energy-driven ones. However, second-round effects and their persistence must be evident in the data for policy responses to be triggered.
Looking ahead, it said the duration of the Strait of Hormuz disruption remains the single most consequential variable for India's external and price outlook. It said that if conditions return to normal soon, there is a good foundation for a wider economic recovery, helped by strong service exports and continued investment. It said ‘Policy will need to remain agile across monetary, fiscal, and structural dimensions to navigate this period of compounded uncertainty, external and climatic, while keeping medium-term growth objectives firmly in view’.
Overall, it said India's macroeconomic position in May 2026 reflects cautious resilience, and added that strong services exports, adequate foreign exchange reserves and a stable labour market provide a firm foundation. However, it said the confluence of elevated global energy prices, a depreciating rupee, rising upstream cost pressures and the prospect of a below-normal monsoon calls for sustained policy vigilance. Navigating FY27 will require agility across monetary, fiscal and structural dimensions to safeguard growth momentum and keep inflation durably anchored, even as the global environment remains uncertain.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23580.20, up by 32.45 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 23565.80 and 23733.70. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 3.82%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.32%, Interglobe Aviation up by 2.67%, Coal India up by 2.31% and TCS up by 1.95%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.83%, NTPC down by 1.63%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.50%, Bharat Electronics down by 0.85% and Tata Consumer Products down by 0.84% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted jumped 694.64 points or 1.55% to 45,427.58, Nikkei 225 surged 475.5 points or 0.72% to 66,805.00, KOSPI increased 371.99 points or 4.39% to 8,848.14 and Hang Seng advanced 215.61 points or 0.85% to 25,398.00. On the other hand, Shanghai Composite was down by 4.85 points or 0.12% to 4,063.72.
