India's services sector's growth eased in March, with the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index slipping to 58.5 from February's reading of 59.0, according to data from S&P Global released Friday.

The level was, however, above the neutral mark of 50.0 and remained above the long-run average of 54.2.

March's results showed the slowest increase in external orders since December 2023, while cost pressures came to a five-month low.

While there was a broad-based growth at the sub-sector level in the services space, the finance and insurance sectors showed the strongest performance, followed by consumer services.

"Looking ahead, business sentiment remains generally positive, but intensifying competition presents a significant challenge to many survey participants," said Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC.

Driven by the strong growth in the manufacturing sector, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index increased to a seven-month high of 59.5, from 58.8 in February.

The combined services and manufacturing private sector activity was strong as companies welcomed a further upturn in new orders, the report said.