The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building is seen in Mumbai, India, January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
BENGALURU, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Indian shares fell on Thursday as banks and IT stocks lost further ground, while investor sentiment also soured on worries about rising inflation following a higher-than-expected jump in U.S. consumer prices.
By 0508 GMT, the blue chip NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) fell 0.94% to 17,847.55, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) was down 0.88% at 59,820.14.
“If (a sticky inflation) scenario evolves, it is better to stay with safer assets… whether it is bonds or U.S.-backed securities,” said Mayuresh Joshi, head of equity research at William O’Neil & Co in India, adding that there had been heavy foreign selling over the last few days.
This week, foreign investors have sold a net $125 million in Indian equities as of Wednesday, Refinitv Eikon data showed.
The 10-year Indian benchmark bond yield was up 4 basis points at 6.3746% by 0510 GMT on Thursday.
Global cues were weak as Wall Street closed sharply lower overnight and Asian shares slumped after data showed U.S. consumer prices surged at the fastest pace since 1990 last month.
In Mumbai trading, the Nifty Bank Index (.NSEBANK) fell 0.90% and was on course for its fourth straight session of losses. Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd (HDFC.NS) was down 1.7%.
The Nifty IT index (.NIFTYIT) was 1.50% lower, tracking its second straight session of losses. Tech Mahindra (TEML.NS) fell 2.9% and was among the top percentage losers on the Nifty 50.
Among individual stocks, shares of Zomato (ZOMT.NS) rose 3.3% after the company posted quarterly revenue that more than doubled as orders on its food delivery business zoomed. read more
Engineering company Thermax (THMX.NS) was up 10.1% after its September-quarter profit nearly tripled year-over-year.
Yes Bank (YESB.NS) gained as much as 4.6%, a day after the lender said its rating had been upgraded by Moody’s, which cited substantial improvement in funding and liquidity.
Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra and Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.
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