Indian shares buck broader Asian gains as HDFC Bank drags
- Nifty 50 fell 0.48% to 24,090.85 and the BSE Sensex slipped 0.7% to 76,933.59
Indian benchmark shares fell on Thursday, lagging broader Asian gains, as losses in heavyweight HDFC Bank after report of a possible U.S. class-action lawsuit outweighed support from falling oil prices on hopes of easing Middle East tensions.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.48% to 24,090.85 and the BSE Sensex slipped 0.7% to 76,933.59.
The Sensex’s indicative close pointed to a sharp 3.3% decline during the closing auction session on the monthly derivatives-expiry day. Before the auction, the Nifty 50 and Sensex were down 0.31% and 0.37%, respectively.
The indexes are down about 0.7% and 0.8% this week, and are staring at a third straight weekly loss.
HDFC Bank fell 2.2% on Thursday to its lowest level in nearly 2-1/2 years. A securities lawsuit in the U.S. has been filed against the lender and two senior executives over alleged illegal payments worth $4.7 million to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to induce large deposits.
The shares of India’s heaviest-weighted stock have also been under pressure due to uncertainty over renewal of CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan’s tenure, which is set to expire in October.
Macquarie said a temporary extension would prolong succession concerns and pressure the top private lender further, while a three-year renewal could remove a key uncertainty.
Other Asian markets logged gains, after Nvidia reported an earnings beat that lifted technology stocks.
Brent crude hovered around $88 a barrel as Qatar’s prime minister prepares to visit Tehran on Thursday to try to re-launch peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors fell in India. Small-caps and mid-caps closed flat.
“Large-cap indexes in India have not performed well due to weakness in some heavyweight stocks, while the broader market indexes are making record highs on earnings momentum,” said Pankaj Pandey, head of retail research at ICICI Securities.
Among stocks, ICICI Prudential AMC fell 4% after promoter Prudential Corporation sold a 2% stake to meet shareholding norms.