Indian equities declined on Wednesday amid rising oil prices and a sharp sell-off in Tata Group shares, with investors cautious ahead of upcoming inflation data in India and the US, amid global tensions and internal sector pressures.
Indian equities slipped on Wednesday as firmer oil prices and caution ahead of inflation readings in India and the US dampened risk appetite, while a sharp sell-off in Tata Group shares added to the pressure. Reuters reported that the Nifty 50 fell 0.15% to 24,435.95 and the Sensex lost 0.24% to 77,966.35, with seven of the 16 major sector indexes finishing in the red. Small-cap stocks fell 0.2%, while mid-caps rose 0.3%.
Crude hovered near $89 a barrel as tensions in the Middle East kept supply worries alive, a particular concern for India, which relies heavily on imported oil. Market analyst Mayank Jain of Share.Market by PhonePe told Reuters that stocks were already under strain because of higher crude, and added that the abrupt departure of Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran increased the drag on Tata-related counters.
Tata Consultancy Services dropped 3.9%, while Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Steel, Titan and Tata Consumer slipped between 0.5% and 1.5%. Reuters said the move erased about $4.6 billion from the combined market value of listed Tata Group companies. Elsewhere, Godrej Consumer Products plunged nearly 11.2% after chief executive Sudhir Sitapati exited suddenly, just months after being reappointed.
Healthcare stocks also weakened after a parliamentary standing committee called for benchmarking private hospital room charges and setting fixed package rates for standard medical and surgical procedures. Apollo Hospitals, Max Healthcare and Fortis Healthcare fell between 1.7% and 3.8%. Investors were also waiting for domestic inflation figures, which could reflect the effect of dearer crude and weak monsoon rains, as well as US consumer price data that may shape the outlook for interest rates.
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