Indian shares fall after three-day rally; metals, rate-sensitives drag

Indian shares were set to snap a three-day winning run on Thursday, bogged down by metals that tracked global declines and caution in rate-sensitive stocks ahead of the central bank’s policy decision.

The Nifty 50 was down 0.31% at 25,696.85, while the BSE Sensex shed 0.27% to 83,590.84, as of 10:26 a.m. IST.

Twelve of 16 major sectors logged losses.

Metals , which were up 6% in the last three sessions, slid 2%, tracking lower global prices as a stronger dollar made commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The broader small-caps and mid-caps fell 1.25% and 0.5%, respectively.

Rate-sensitive sectors eased, with financials dropping 0.3%, and auto and realty declining 0.8% and 1.1% each.

The Reserve Bank of India is widely expected to keep rates unchanged on Friday.

“The market direction is likely to depend on RBI’s upcoming policy announcement and commentary as well as the details on the newly unveiled trade deal with the US,” Bajaj Broking said in a note.

The IT index rose 0.4% after sliding about 6% on Wednesday on concerns over AI-driven disruption in the software industry, which triggered a global tech selloff.

The stock benchmarks have jumped 3.8% in the last three sessions, with gains in two days supported by the US-India trade deal.

“After the three-day rally, markets have stabilised, with the benchmark Nifty settling above its 20-day moving average of 25,450 (a key near-term support level); however higher zones remain challenging,” said Om Mehra, technical research analyst at SAMCO Securities.

Among individual stocks, Tata Power fell 2.5% after the utility firm posted lower profit in the December quarter, hurt by weak performance in the thermal segment.

Devyani International jumped 5.6% despite posting a wider loss in the December quarter, as multiple brokerages reiterated a positive view on the company’s future earnings outlook, citing strong same-store-sales growth.