India’s HSBC Composite PMI stood at 58.1 in May 2026, little changed from a final 58.2 in the prior month, flash data showed. Services growth strengthened but was offset by softer factory output, which rose at its second-slowest pace since mid-2022. Gains in new orders, exports, and employment all eased amid fallout from the Middle East conflict, while backlogs slipped marginally below the neutral 50 mark, signaling limited capacity pressures. Firms nevertheless continued hiring. On inflation, input costs accelerated to their second-highest level in nearly three years, driven by higher energy, raw material, and transport costs. Output price inflation, however, cooled to its weakest since January and remained well below input cost growth. Lastly, business confidence stayed positive and above its long-run average, though it fell to a three-month low.