Financials lead slide in Indian shares; Reliance curbs losses

Financials lead slide in Indian shares; Reliance curbs losses

India’s blue-chip indexes fell on Monday led by financials, as Middle East conflict and elevated U.S. Treasury yields weighed on sentiment, while gains in Reliance Industries limited losses.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.23% at 19,003.95 as of 10:17 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.23% to 63,637.75. Ten of the 13 sectoral indexes declined. High weightage financials lost nearly 1%, dragged by a 7% slide in SBI Card after the credit card company missed the September-quarter profit view as financial costs weighed.

“When the markets come under pressure due to global factors, the segments that are over-valued and have outperformed like small- and mid-caps will feel the most heat,” said Raghvendra Nath, managing director at Ladderup Wealth Management.

Asian markets were subdued, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index losing 0.12%. U.S. rate concerns persisted ahead of Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Nov. 1, after data reignited inflationary worries, while 10-year Treasury yields hovered close to 16-year highs hit last week.

Meanwhile, caution over the Middle East conflict prevailed after Israel said it hit over 450 Hamas targets on Sunday and self-declared “second phase” of the attack on the Hamas militants.

“Till there is a semblance of resolution of the conflict in the Middle East, domestic equities will continue to consolidate,” Nath added. Among individual stocks, Reliance Industries rose nearly 2% after a reporting rise in net profit in the September quarter. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate, which accounts for nearly 10% of the weightage of Nifty 50 capped some of the index losses.

Drug maker Cipla gained 3% after beating second-quarter profit estimates, aided by robust domestic and North American sales.