BENGALURU: Indian shares fell on Monday, dragged by tech after a strong US jobs report renewed fears of the Federal Reserve sustaining aggressive rate hikes for longer, while foreign investors continued to sell.
An ongoing selloff in Adani Group stocks further pressured domestic equities, dragging the Nifty 50 index down 0.75% to 17,720.15, while the S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.71% to 60,490.62 as of 10:50 a.m. IST.
Wall Street equities fell on Friday after nonfarm payrolls rose by 517,000 jobs in January, way above a Reuters estimate of 185,000. The strong report heightened fears that the Fed might continue its rate hike trajectory, with interest rate futures now pointing to chances of the central bank delivering at least two more rate hikes.
The IT stocks were down 0.5%, trimming some of the intraday losses amid rate-hike concerns in the United States that could push the economy into a recession.
The index was down 1.34% earlier in the session IT companies in the country draw the bulk of their revenue from the United States. A potential slowdown in the world’s largest economy hobbles their growth prospects.
While concerns about a rate hike in the US weigh on the sector, after the recent sharp correction, there is a limited downside, said two analysts.
“It is a breather,” said Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking. “The sentiment remains positive for IT, even if comments from Fed and macro data from US could cause near-term volatility,” Meanwhile, the selloff in Adani stocks had created panic in Indian markets. Ratings agency Moody’s warned that the tumble in Adani group stocks could hit the conglomerate’s ability to raise capital.
“While Adani saga has hurt the sentiment of retail investors, the relentless selling by foreign investors in Indian stocks is a serious cause for concern,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research (retail) at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Foreign selling in Indian equities hit a seven-month high in January, according to official data.
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