INDIA STOCKS-Indian benchmarks end lower as IT, metals outweigh growth boost
By Bharath Rajeswaran
June 2 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks ended marginally lower on Monday, led by IT and metals stocks, as global trade concerns outweighed optimism from stronger-than-expected domestic growth data.
The Nifty 50 .NSEI dipped 0.14% to 24,716.6, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN fell 0.09% to 81,373.75.
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50% from June 4, reigniting global trade concerns.
Metals .NIFTYMET and IT companies .NIFYTIT ended 0.7% lower and were the top sectoral losers by percentage.
Rising trade tensions could weigh on the U.S. economy and tech spending and delay rate cuts by the Federal Reserve amid worries of tariff-driven inflation.
Metal stocks dropped as much as 1.3% during the session but pared losses after India's steel minister estimated only a minor impact from Trump's tariff announcement on steel.
The losses in both sectors outweighed gains fuelled by India's economy surging 7.4% in January to March, above a Reuters forecast of growth of 6.7%.
Despite upbeat economic growth, global trade turbulence has weighed on market sentiment, limiting any scope for a meaningful upside, said Ajit Mishra, senior vice president of research at Religare Broking.
Investors await the Reserve bank of India's policy decision on June 6, where the central bank is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
Rate-sensitive sectors gained on the day, with realty .NIFTYREAL and state-owned lenders .NIFTYPSU rising about 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively, and consumer stocks .NIFTYFMCG advancing 0.8%.
Among individual stocks, Mphasis MBFL.NS fell 2.7% after a report of losing long-time client FedEx to Accenture ACC.N.
While the blue-chips fell on Monday, the broader, more domestically focussed small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 gained 1.2% and 0.6%.
They have gained 23.1% and 20.6% since the start of March, outperforming the Nifty 50's 11.7% rise, with Motilal Oswal analysts attributing the outperformance to unexpected earnings resilience in broader markets.
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