BENGALURU, Sept 28 (Reuters) -
Indian shares fell on Thursday, reversing early gains, led by losses in information technology and consumer stocks, while weakness in global equities markets on fears of higher interest rates and surging crude prices weighed.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.75% to 19,582 points as of 01:44 p.m IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex slid 0.65% to 65,690 points. The benchmarks opened 0.2% higher. Both the indexes fell more than 3% earlier in the session.
"Despite the correction, India has outperformed the global markets.. But, we are also seeing many emerging risks like higher crude prices and depreciation in rupee," said Samrat Dasgupta, chief executive of Esquire Capital Investment Advisors.
Surging U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar on fears that interest rates will remain higher for longer has been weighing on the global equity markets since the Federal Reserve struck a hawkish tone earlier in the month.
Crude prices, which rose 3% overnight will hurt India, the world's third-largest importer, which is also reeling under lower-than-expected monsoon rains, triggering inflation risks.
Meanwhile, the domestically focused stocks, small-caps and mid-caps fell 0.2% and 1%, respectively.
All sectoral indexes were in the red, with information technology stocks leading losses after a 1.7% fall, followed by a 1.6% drop in fast moving consumer goods and a 1% slide in autos.
Rise in crude prices pushed state-run explorer Oil India higher by 3.5%, while insurer ICICI Lombard slipped 2% after it got tax
demand
notice for 17.29 billion rupees.
However, the higher crude prices weighed on paint companies, which use oil as a crucial raw material, with Asian Paints falling 3.8% and Berger Paints dropping 3%.
Indian markets will also see monthly derivatives expiry on Thursday, likely keeping shares volatile. (Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami, Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
