Nifty, Sensex Fall As IT Stocks Drags Amid US Rate Hike Fears

Indian shares fell on Monday, with the benchmark Nifty briefly slipping below a key long-term average for the first time in over four months, led by tech stocks after U.S. data reinforced fears of a prolonged high interest rate regime.

The Nifty 50 index fell 0.34% to 17,404.50, while the S&P BSE Sensex edged 0.31% lower to 59,288 as of 9:44 a.m. IST.

The Nifty 50 fell below the 200-day moving average early in the session for the first time since early October 2022, though it has moved above that level since.

Nine of the 13 sectoral indexes declined, with the high-weightage information technology stocks losing over 1.5% and all its 10 constituents in the red.

The drop in the IT sector, which earns a significant share of its revenue from the United States, comes after Wall Street slid following data that showed the personal consumption expenditures price index, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, accelerated in January.

The data heightened fears among investors that the Fed might have to keep rates higher for longer to tackle inflation.

Fed futures now have rates peaking around 5.42%, suggesting at least three more hikes from the current 4.50-4.75% band.

Among individual stocks, Bajaj Auto fell as much as 4.3% after a report said that the company could take a steep cut in production of motorcycles and three-wheelers across its export-focused plants in March due to uncertainties in its biggest market, Nigeria.

Bajaj Auto was the top loser in Nifty 50 and Nifty Auto index, which fell nearly 1%.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)