Nifty, Sensex end lower this week due to below-normal monsoon forecast and FII selling

Mumbai, May 30. The Indian equity benchmarks, Nifty and Sensex, have posted notable losses this week due to sustained selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and a below-normal monsoon forecast. This has caused fears of food inflation.Nifty lost 0.72 per cent during the week and dipped 1.50 per cent on the last trading day to reach 23,547. The Sensex was down 1,092 points or 1.44 percent at 74,775. It declined 0.85 per cent during the week.Large-cap stocks remained under pressure, but the broader market showed resilience as mid-cap stocks briefly touched an all-time high.PSU Banks performed well due to mark-to-market treasury gains from yield compression, while autos and metals benefited from a sharp decline in crude oil prices. FMCG, healthcare, and consumer durables declined as defensive premiums unwound on improving risk appetite.MSCI index rebalancing-related adjustments also triggered significant institutional selling in the last trading session.Overall, the macro backdrop is more constructive than it was two weeks ago, but confirmation through policy clarity, monsoon normalisation, and geopolitical de-escalation is needed before large-cap conviction builds into the next meaningful leg higher, market participants said.Crude oil staged a sharp weekly decline driven by optimism around a potential US–Iran diplomatic breakthrough, but the IMD's below-normal monsoon forecast offset resultant gains.The rupee firmed modestly through the week after RBI's commentary signalling that the INR remains undervalued.Cumulative outflows by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) stood at approximately Rs 23,700 crore during the week, they said.Broad market indices showed divergence with benchmark indices, as Nifty Midcap100 added 0.54 per cent, while Nifty Smallcap100 gained 1.02 per cent during the week.Nifty 50 is expected to see the 24,000–24,100 region as a strong resistance zone and the 23,300–23,000 region remains a crucial support area, market participants said.In Bank Nifty, immediate resistance is placed around the 54,600–54,800 zone and the 54,200–54,000 region continues to act as an immediate support zone.Investors remain keen on cues from the upcoming RBI monetary policy decision, India's GDP data release, Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data.