All eyes now turn to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy meeting next week, which could offer fresh cues for market direction.

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Friday, dragged by profit booking in auto, metals, and technology stocks. Overall, the benchmarks ended in the negative territory for the second straight week.

All eyes now turn to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy meeting next week, which could offer fresh cues for market direction.

Macro Data Watch

On the macroeconomic front, India’s January-March quarter (Q4) GDP growth came in at 7.4%, beating street estimates. Meanwhile, the government maintained its full-year FY25 growth estimate at 6.5%.

The construction sector led with Q4 growth at 10.8% (up from 8.7%); year-on-year (YoY) growth came in at 9.4% (down from 10.4%). 

Private consumer spending surged 7.2% YoY (up from 5.6%), driven by better rural demand and festival spending due to easing food prices. 

Agricultural growth significantly accelerated to 4.6% YoY (from 2.7%), with Q4FY25 growth at 5.4% (up from 0.9%). 

Manufacturing growth declined to 4.5% YoY (from 12.3%), and Q4FY25 saw 4.8% growth (down from 11.3%).

Volatile Friday Session

The Sensex ended 182 points lower on Friday to close at 81,451, while the Nifty 50 fell 82 points to finish at 24,750 in a volatile session. 

The broader markets that had been resilient all week experienced some selling. The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices ended with marginal cuts. For the week, the Nifty Midcap index rose 1.5% and the Smallcap index gained 1.9%.

Meanwhile, retail investor sentiment surrounding the Nifty 50 remained ‘extremely bullish’.

Nifty sentiment and message volume on May 30 as of 4:30 pm IST. | source: Stocktwits

On the sectoral front, PSU bank stocks offered some cushion, with the index rallying 3%.

But metals saw significant selling after the US-China trade talks stalled. Vedanta fell nearly 4%, Hindalco fell 3%, and Tata Steel and JSW Steel ended 2% lower. 

Gold loan companies surged in trade after the Finance Ministry urged the RBI to protect small gold loan borrowers by delaying the implementation of new gold loan norms till January 2026. Muthoot Finance surged 7%, Manappuram gained 3%.

Bajaj Auto ended 3% lower despite profit growth as margin concerns weighed on sentiment.  

Suzlon ended 9% higher on stellar March quarter earnings and brokerage upgrades. 

Ola Electric fell 5% and Mazagon Dock fell 7% on weak earnings 

Reliance Power shares rallied 16%, hitting a fresh 52-week high amid high volumes. 

Globally, European markets traded higher, and Dow Futures pointed to a subdued opening for Wall Street.

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