Indian shares posted modest gains on Tuesday after government data showed India's headline inflation slowed for a third straight month in April, allowing room for the RBI to extend monetary easing to revive flagging growth. Inflation based on the wholesale price index slowed to a 41-month low of 4.89 percent in April from 5.96 percent a month ago, with prices of food, manufacturing products, fuel and power all showing a tendency to decline.
Core inflation for April came in at 2.8 percent, lower than 3.5 percent earlier. Inflation is now moving towards comfort zone but the wide gap between WPI and retail inflation is a cause for concern,C Rangarajan, Prime Ministers' Economic Advisory Council Chairman said.
The benchmark BSE Sensex ended a choppy session up 31 points or 0.16 percent higher at 19,722, while the broader Nifty index closed up 15 points or 0.25 percent at 5,995.
Ranbaxy Laboratories reversed an early loss to end 3.6 percent higher after its U.S. subsidiary agreed to pay $500 million in fines to resolve claims that it sold adulterated drugs.
ONGC and Oil India rose about 2 percent each. The upstream oil companies have requested the government to reduce the discounts they must give PSU refiners on crude purchases because of the recent fall in global crude prices, the Financial Express reported, citing sources. Shares of GAIL India, India's biggest gas transporter, also closed up 1.7 percent.
Tata Motors rallied 1.8 percent after its British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover reported a 12 percent rise in vehicle sales last month. Aptech soared 8 percent after announcing a share buyback at a price not exceeding Rs. 82 a share.
IT shares like Infosys and TCS rose about half a percent each as better-than-expected U.S. retail sales data boosted optimism the U.S. economy is gaining traction. Reliance Infrastructure also gained 0.5 percent after the company reported a 76 percent jump in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March.
Shriram EPC gained 0.9 percent after the company bagged a Rs. 125-crore order from Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Suzlon Energy advanced 0.4 percent after its subsidiary REpower Systems SE secured an order worth 90 million euros for four wind power projects in Germany.
Amara Raja Batteries plunged over 5 percent as it reported a modest 2 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit. Dr Reddy's Laboratories lost 2.4 percent after a filing to stock exchanges showed state-owned insurer LIC offloaded a 2.13 percent stake in the pharma major between January 10 and May 10.
Rajesh Exports tumbled 3.5 percent on allegations it has routed gold meant for exports into the retail market. Tata Steel shares closed 0.6 percent lower after the steelmaker said it will book a $1.6 billion goodwill impairment charge for the loss of value of Tata Steel Europe on account of a weak macroeconomic environment in Europe.
ICICI Bank ended flat and HDFC Bank eased 0.6 percent on reports an investigation by the Reserve Bank of India into allegations of money laundering has found many discrepancies, including fictitious PAN and non-compliance of KYC norms by banks.
Elsewhere, other Asian markets pared early gains, failing to sustain an initial upward move after overnight data showed U.S. consumers revved up their retail spending last month. The ongoing speculation over Fed tapering its asset-purchase program dented investor sentiment to some extent as traders eyed a slew of data including, German economic sentiment data due later in the day, and US reports on industrial production, housing starts and jobless claims due out this week for directional cues.
China's Shanghai Composite index led the declines with a 1.1 percent loss on growth concerns, while South Korea's Kospi average closed 1 percent higher, led by automakers amid an appreciating yen.
European stocks were broadly lower in early trading as investors digested mixed economic data. An indicator of German investor confidence remained below expectations in May, despite a modest gain from April, a survey by the Centre For European Economic Research (ZEW) showed, while eurozone industrial production growth accelerated more than expected in March, largely due to an increase in energy output.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.