The continued softening of wholesale price index (WPI) inflation since December 2024 is a positive signal for higher economic growth in India, economists said on Monday, adding that they expect WPI inflation to remain benign in the coming months, assuming geopolitical tensions abate.

The annual rate of inflation based on the WPI eased further to a 14-month low of 0.39 per cent in May this year from 0.85 per cent in April and 2.05 per cent in March, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry data.

PHDCCI President Hemant Jain said this was largely driven by a significant reduction in the prices of primary articles, fuel and power, as well as manufactured product categories.

"This downtrend in wholesale inflation will boost business sentiment as it will result in reduced costs of production," he added.

The fall in prices of food articles from (-)0.86 per cent to (-)1.56 per cent, petrol from 7.70 per cent to (-)8.49 per cent, and manufactured products from 2.62 per cent to 2.04 per cent from April to May, respectively, are significantly contributing to the softening of WPI inflation.

India’s annual rate of inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) eased further to a 14-month low of 0.39 per cent in May from 0.85 per cent in April and 2.05 per cent in March, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday.

The month-over-month change in WPI inflation during May stood in the negative zone at (-) 0.06 per cent as compared to the previous month of April, reflecting the declining trend in inflation.

There was a decline in prices of food as well as fuels such as petrol and diesel during the month compared to the previous month, which resulted in the overall month-on-month inflation rate turning negative.

Meanwhile, the country’s inflation rate based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has declined to 2.82 per cent in May this year compared to the same month of the previous year. This is the lowest level of retail inflation since February 2019, figures released last week showed.

India Inc’s operating profit margins are expected to increase by 10 to 40 basis points to 18.2-18.5 per cent in Q1 (April-June) of FY2026, following the sequential recovery over the past few quarters, according to a report released by rating agency ICRA on Monday.

“This, coupled with a moderation in interest costs, owing to the RBI’s recent repo rate cuts aggregating to 100 basis points bps, will result in an improvement in the interest coverage ratio for India Inc. to around 5.1-5.2 times in Q1 FY2026, against 5.0 times in Q4 FY2025,” the report states.

Kinjal Shah, senior vice president at ICRA, said, “Given the uncertain global environment, the private capital expenditure (capex) cycle is expected to remain measured. However, certain sunrise sectors such as electronics, semiconductors and niche segments within the automotive space like electric vehicles will continue to see a scale-up in investments, in line with the various production-linked incentives programmes announced by the Government of India.”

Oil prices in the international market jumped further on Monday after the Mideast tensions escalated between Israel and Iran.

Brent climbed as much as 5.5 per cent before paring most gains to trade around $75 a barrel.

Israel launched an attack on the giant South Pars gas field, forcing the halt of a production platform, according to reports.

According to analysts, they do not expect to see another significant leg higher in crude prices unless there are attempts to close the Strait of Hormuz or Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen target shipping.

Norbert Rucker, Head Economics and Next Generation Research, Julius Baer, said oil is the fever measure of such conflicts, and prices spiked accordingly.

The Indian equity indices opened in the green on Monday despite rising Mideast tensions, and there was no panic seen during the early trade.

At 9:21 am, Sensex was up 265.05 points or 0.33 per cent at 81,396.52 and Nifty was up 93.40 points or 0.38 per cent at 24,812.

Buying was seen in the midcap and smallcap index. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 65.45 points or 0.11 per cent at 58,292.50 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 17.15 points or 0.09 per cent at 18,391.95.

According to analysts, the uncertainty stemming from the Israel-Iran conflict has created a risk-off in global markets.

“The safe haven buying is keeping gold firm but dollar continues to be weak. Interestingly, there is no panic in equity markets,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

SBI Life Insurance on Saturday announced a series of compassionate measures to simplify and speed up the claim settlement process for families of those who lost their lives in the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad on June 12.

The company said that, understanding the emotional trauma families are going through, it has decided not to insist on a formal death certificate to process life insurance claims.

Instead, SBI Life will accept official government records, entries from municipal portals, or data from e-governance databases as valid proof of death.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) brought in Rs 3,346.94 crore into the Indian stock markets this week, as investor confidence received a strong boost following the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) rate cut.

According to data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), FPIs were active buyers in the Indian equity market during the first three trading sessions of the week -- from June 9 to June 13.

The positive mood in the market was largely driven by the RBI’s decision to reduce the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5 percent, a move that many saw as a clear signal to support economic growth and improve market liquidity.

Market experts believe that this surprise rate cut has played a big role in attracting foreign investments, as it reflects a pro-growth approach from the central bank.

US-based Axiom Space is now set to take Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to International Space Station (ISS) on June 19, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday.

Shukla’s flight earlier scheduled to launch on June 11, after being deferred multiple time, was postponed due to technical observations related to the Zvezda module of the ISS.

The leak was detected in the propulsion bay during a pre-launch test.

ISRO noted that Axiom Space has informed that they are working closely with NASA to assess the pressure anomaly in the Zvezda Service Module onboard the International Space Station.

The Indian equity markets witnessed heightened volatility this week, ultimately closing in the red, analysts said on Saturday, adding that early optimism, driven by progress in US–China trade negotiations, was overshadowed by escalating geopolitical tensions after Israel launched a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

This development sparked a global risk-off sentiment, leading to a rally in safe-haven assets such as gold and U.S. bonds. Oil prices surged past $76/barrel after months of consolidation, as fears of supply disruptions resurfaced.

“On the domestic front, CPI inflation eased to a 75-month low, offering some relief. However, the recent spike in crude prices could reverse this trend if the Middle East conflict intensifies. Sectorally, rate-sensitive segments like auto, realty, and banking saw profit booking, while export-oriented sectors such as IT and pharma gained amid a weaker rupee,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd.

The Indian stock market has delivered stellar performance over the last five years, generating 18 per cent annualised returns in US dollar terms -- the highest among global markets, a new report said on Friday.

India’s long-term outperformance stands out as it surpasses the 12 per cent returns delivered by world and developed markets and is more than four times higher than those of other emerging markets, according to data compiled by the Bandhan Mutual Fund.

In sharp contrast, China’s markets declined 2 per cent in May 2025, making it one of the few major economies to end the month in the red.

Small-cap stocks have played a leading role in India’s growth story, outperforming across the board -- whether over the last three months, five years, or since the pandemic lows of March 2020.