BENGALURU: India’s Nifty 50 and Sensex fell on Tuesday, weighed by a pullback in energy shares ahead of inflation data from India and the United States, due later in the day.
The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.43% to 20,906.40, while the S&P BSE Sensex shed 0.54% to 69,551.03.
The blue-chip indexes logged their biggest single-day percentage loss since Nov. 1 and Oct. 26, respectively.
The Nifty had gained as much as 0.19% in the first hour of trade and hit a record high for the eighth session in nine.
India’s retail inflation likely picked up in November due to higher food prices, reversing a three-month decline, a Reuters poll found. The data is due at 5:30 p.m. IST.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, while expected to show inflation moderating, is still seen above the Fed’s target.
India’s Nifty 50, Sensex trim gains; global markets’ rally fades
The inflation data and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision and commentary on Wednesday could influence the near-term rate outlook, according to three analysts.
Energy stocks fell 1.31% on the day, snapping a rally which saw the index climb about 20% over last six weeks, supported by a fall in crude oil prices.
Realty also dropped 1.75%, on the day. The index had gained about 21% since the beginning of November, boosted by strong quarterly results and robust demand outlook.
The more domestic focussed small-caps closed flat, while mid-caps settled 0.39% lower.
“We expect large-caps to outperform in this leg of the rally aided by return of foreign inflows while pockets in small-cap and mid-cap segments are stretched after the recent liquidity-driven rally,” said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of research (retail equities) at SMC Global Securities.
SpiceJet fell 5.15% after reporting a second-quarter loss on Tuesday.
Ultratech Cement gained 2.11% and was among the top Nifty 50 gainers, after two brokerages identified the cement maker among its top picks in the sector.
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