BENGALURU: Indian shares slid 1% and the Nifty 50 logged its worst session since July, dragged by a sharp dip in metals on concerns of default by Chinese property behemoths, while investors awaited further cues on monetary policy by US Federal Reserve.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index closed down 1.07% at 17,396.9 on Monday, and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.9% to 58,490.93.
US listings of iron ore miners and steel companies dropped premarket, as did European basic resources stocks, after sentiment was hurt by growing risks of defaults at Chinese property developers like China Evergrande Group.
The Indian subindex for metal stocks dived nearly 7% to its lowest levels in nearly a month, with Tata Steel and JSW Steel dropping about 10% and 8%, respectively, to be the biggest losers on the Nifty 50.
"There are also fears of a weakening in Chinese demand (for iron ore)," said A. K. Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital.
Iron ore futures in China fell last week on concerns around demand for the raw material.
Investors will be closely watching the Fed's two-day meet starting on Tuesday, where it is expected to lay the groundwork for the tapering of its bond buying programme.
Indian shares perched at record highs on banking, consumer good boost
Banking stocks fell 1.8%, snapping four consecutive sessions of gains, with the subindex for public sector banks crashing over 4%.
Bucking the wider trend, consumer goods stocks advanced 0.9%, with ITC Ltd rising over 1% after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the country was giving "a lot of priority to its vaccination programme in states whose economies are driven by the tourism sector."
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