Indian shares slip; investors await Jio IPO

Indian shares declined on Monday, with private banks leading the losses as investors digested earnings from key lenders, while elevated crude prices weighed on sentiment.

Investors awaited the country’s largest-ever IPO by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms that opens for subscription on Wednesday.

Private sector banks dropped 1.9%, with HDFC Bank and Axis Bank losing 2.3% and 4.2%, respectively, after missing quarterly earnings views amid narrowing margins.

“With earnings of most banks largely in line with, or ahead of, expectations, barring Axis Bank, the selloff looked disproportionate and reflected profit-taking after last week’s sharp rally,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research, wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

India’s benchmark Nifty 50 fell 1.11% to 22,888.95, while the BSE Sensex declined 1.17% to 73,852.90.

The NSE weekly derivatives expiry pushed up volatility to about 15, the highest in a week.

The broader small-caps and mid-caps shed 1% and 1.1%, respectively. Indian financial markets will be closed on Tuesday for a local holiday.

Fifteen of the 16 major sectors fell, with the IT index slipping 1.3% after a 3.9% gain in the previous session. LTM fell 2.9% after missing quarterly profit estimates.

Public sector banks rose 2.5%, led by Punjab National Bank’s 4.8% surge after it reported an expansion in net interest margin. Union Bank of India jumped 5.3% after posting a rise in profit while asset quality improved sequentially.

UltraTech Cement fell 2.4% after the country’s largest cement producer by capacity reported quarterly profit that missed analysts’ estimates.

Elsewhere, US President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs on Russia in a move that could increase Russian fuel exports and ease supply concerns. However, persistent Middle East tensions continued to support oil prices with Brent at $108.5 a barrel.