Stock market today: The Indian stock market finished the last trading session of May in the red, as a sharp sell-off in technology, auto, and metal stocks dragged the indices lower after a brief rebound in the previous session.
PSU stocks offered little support to the market, which wasn’t enough to lift the indices higher. Eventually, the Nifty 50 ended with a cut of 79.90 points, or 0.32%, slipping back below the 24,800 mark to close at 24,753 points, while the Sensex skidded 182 points, or 0.22%, to settle at 81,450 points.
The broader markets, however, managed to end the session with mild losses, indicating that market breadth still favored the bulls. The Nifty Midcap 100 closed the session with a drop of 0.08%, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 ended with a marginal cut of 0.07%.
Despite lackluster activity in the Nifty 50 and Sensex during much of the second half of May, both indices managed to end the month with gains of over 1.5%, extending their winning streak to a third consecutive month.
While large caps concluded the month with decent gains, mid- and small-cap indices continued to outperform as the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 6%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 rallied even higher by 8%.
Markets have been moving in a tight range amid a lack of fresh triggers, and the resurfacing of global trade tensions has also prompted investors to stay on the sidelines. The inconsistency in overseas investor inflows has also been weighing on overall market movement.
Meanwhile, India’s GDP growth data for March is due later today, and the latest U.S. PCE data—also scheduled for release—could offer further clarity on the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut trajectory, which remains uncertain amid sticky inflation and slowing growth.
