India’s benchmark Nifty 50 index declined 0.16% on Tuesday, closing at 19,523.60 after a session marked by mixed performance across sectors.
The index shed 30.60 points, weighed by losses in blue-chip constituents including Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank, which offset gains in technology and consumer goods shares. The broader NSE Nifty 500, which tracks 500 of the largest and most liquid stocks, ended 0.08% lower.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a narrow margin, with 1,245 stocks rising against 1,189 falling on the National Stock Exchange. Trading volumes totaled 9.2 billion shares, above the 30-day average of 8.7 billion.
Sectoral performance was uneven: the Nifty IT index rose 0.7% as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services advanced, while the Nifty Bank index fell 0.4% following declines in private lenders. Energy shares were mixed, with state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation up 1.2% but Bharat Petroleum down 0.8%.
The rupee strengthened 0.1% against the U.S. dollar to 83.45, providing limited support to export-oriented sectors. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of $42 million in Indian equities during the session, according to provisional exchange data.
Analysts attributed the mixed close to cautious sentiment ahead of key U.S. inflation data due later this week and expectations of prolonged high interest rates in major economies. The Reserve Bank of India’s next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for June 7, with no change in the repo rate expected.
The Nifty 50 has gained 2.1% so far in May, paring some of April’s 1.3% decline amid volatile global markets.
