Indian shares fell on Friday, pulled down by IT stocks, as concerns over interest rates in the United States and deflation and demand worries in China led to a decline in global equities. The Nifty 50 index dropped by 0.52% while the S&P BSE Sensex fell by 0.49% at 10:04 a.m. IST. This marks the fourth consecutive week of decline for the benchmarks, the first time since May 2022. IT firms, which rely heavily on US revenue, experienced a significant drop with Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and HCLTech among the top losers. Asian markets also showed a lack of momentum due to concerns about China’s real estate sector after Evergrande, China’s largest property developer, filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court. Analysts warn that a combination of factors such as the weakening Indian rupee, rising domestic inflation, moderation in foreign inflows, China’s economic slowdown, and US interest rate concerns could lead to further profit-taking in the markets. Investors are advised to focus on stock selection and risk management until there is a shift in sentiment in global markets. In other news, shares of Adani Power, Adani Energy Solutions, and Adani Green rose between 3% and 5% following a report that Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) is considering investing up to $2.5 billion in Adani’s power businesses. AU Small Finance Bank also saw a 2.05% increase after Motilal Oswal upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ based on the potential earnings uptick from fiscal 2025. The market was covered by Bharath Rajeswaran and Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; the article was edited by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Janane Venkatraman. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles apply.
