Indian shares fall as IT drags; oil slides ahead of potential US-Iran talks

Indian shares reversed early gains on Tuesday, dragged by IT stocks on concerns around demand and earnings, offsetting positive sentiment from a fall in oil prices for a fifth session ahead of potential US-Iran talks at the UN General Assembly this week.

The Nifty 50 fell 0.36% to 23,329 and the BSE Sensex lost 0.44% to 74,529.08.

Ahead of the closing auction, which marked NSE’s weekly derivatives expiry, the Nifty was down 0.28% and the Sensex down 0.27%.

Most market participants said the regulator’s proposals earlier this month to overhaul derivatives settlement could help curb expiry-day volatility.

“Our assessment is that the objective behind CAS is sound but implementation has moved ahead of market readiness,” said Nilesh Sharma, executive director and president at SAMCO Securities.

The market regulator’s proposals “reflect a willingness to revisit a considered decision in light of live market evidence”, he added.

Fourteen of 16 major sectors fell. Small-caps and mid-caps shed 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

The IT index fell 0.9%, with CLSA and Goldman Sachs flagging subdued demand weighing on medium-term earnings outlook.

“Markets turned volatile today after an early recovery attempt, with the Sensex and Nifty giving up gains as selling intensified at higher levels,” said Vikram Kasat, chief business officer of advisory and dealing at PL Capital.

“Foreign outflows and geopolitical uncertainty continue to weight on sentiment and keep inflation and import-cost concerns in focus.”

Brent crude futures fell 1.5% to $98.9 per barrel, reversing an intraday rise of about 2% after a report from Japanese news agency Kyodo said Iran had offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 7 days if US eases military pressure in a push for diplomacy.

Though Iran and the US exchanged threats on Sunday, President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the UN General Assembly.

Among stocks, Coal India gained 3.2% after Morgan Stanley upgraded to “overweight” from “equal-weight”.