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Markets trade lower in afternoon session
Jun-05-2026

Benchmarks traded lower in late afternoon session as RBI’s upward revision of CPI inflation for 2026-27 sparked caution among investors. The RBI projected the retail inflation for 2026-27 at 5.1%, higher from its earlier estimate of 4.6%, largely due to mounting input costs. Further, the RBI lowered its GDP forecast for FY2026-27 to 6.6% from the 6.9% estimated in April. Moreover, tensions resurface in West Asia after Hezbollah rejected a new ceasefire agreement with Israel, which weighed on market risk sentiment. However, losses remained capped after the government decided to exempt FPIs from income tax on interest income and capital gains arising from investments in government securities. Some support also came after Indian rupee strengthened by 75 paise against US dollar to trade at 94.99.

On the global front, all Asian equity markets were trading lower amid heavy selling in major technology stocks. European equity markets were trading mostly in green as Brent crude oil prices retreated to trade below $95 per barrel.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74182.73, down by 177.28 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 73988.75 and 74717.57. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.75%, Healthcare up by 0.58%, Consumer Durables up by 0.48%, Utilities up by 0.30% and Bankex up by 0.14%, while Metal down by 1.71%, Telecom down by 1.41%, Basic Materials down by 1.05%, TECK down by 0.95% and IT down by 0.90% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.75%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.61%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.43%, Axis Bank up by 1.13% and Asian Paints up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Trent down by 2.46%, Tata Steel down by 1.97%, HCL Technologies down by 1.67%, TCS down by 1.57% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.51% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Steel in its latest release showed that India’s steel sector delivered another month of robust performance in May 2026, recording healthy year-on-year (YoY) growth in both production and consumption metrics. 

In the reported month, crude steel production increased to 14.21 million tonnes, registering a 2.9% YoY gain. Hot metal and pig iron production grew by 2.0% and 1.1% YoY, respectively, with pig iron output reaching 0.77 million tonnes. Finished steel production expanded significantly by 7.7% YoY to 13.94 million tonnes, while finished steel consumption outpaced production growth, rising 9.0% YoY to 14.33 million tonnes.

On the trade front, imports stood at 0.69 million tonnes and exports at 0.51 million tonnes in May 2026, registering year-on-year growth of 62.5% and 29.9% over May 2025 levels of 0.42 million tonnes and 0.39 million tonnes respectively. 

Meanwhile, domestic steel prices decreased month-on-month (MoM) in May 2026 across all major product categories. TMT/Rebar prices declined around 1.3% MoM, though they still registered an around 4.5% YoY gain - marking the first positive YoY reading after several months of weakness. Flat steel prices also declined, with HR Coil and GP Sheet prices both falling by approximately 0.2% MoM.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23345.80, down by 70.75 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 23282.65 and 23516.35. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 1.91%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.76%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.64%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.52% and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories up by 1.42%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 3.29%, Hindalco down by 2.62%, Trent down by 2.45%, Tata Steel down by 2.05% and Coal India down by 1.78% were the top losers.

All Asian equity markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 845.69 points or 1.27% to 66,625.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 606.52 points or 1.35% to 45,070.94, Hang Seng declined 275.4 points or 1.1% to 24,978.00, KOSPI dropped 478.82 points or 5.87% to 8,160.59, Straits Times fell 23.78 points or 0.47% to 5,043.75, Shanghai Composite weakened 30.04 points or 0.75% to 4,027.74 and Jakarta Composite plunged 228.99 points or 4.08% to 5,610.80.

European equity markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 27.8 points or 0.27% to 10,388.12 and France’s CAC rose 26.61 points or 0.32% to 8,270.90, while Germany’s DAX lost 62.65 points or 0.25% to 24,882.30.
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