Indian shares slump as Reliance, ONGC crash on fuel export tax hikes
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Indian shares began the second quarter with heavy losses on Friday, hammered by Reliance Industries and ONGC after the government raised taxes on fuel exports.
The NSE Nifty 50 index dropped as much as 1.7% to 15,511.05, while the S&P BSE Sensex slid 1.74% to 52,094.25. The indexes on Thursday capped their worst quarter since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Energy stocks sank in early trading after the government raised taxes on exports of diesel, petrol, and jet fuel.
Oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company, shed $19.35 billion in market value as its stock plunged as much as 8.7%, marking its biggest intraday slide since Nov. 2, 2020.
The Nifty Energy index fell 3.7% in its sharpest drop since mid-May.
State-owned oil explorer ONGC and refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical slumped 10% each, while Vedanta dropped 7.6% to its lowest in 16 months.
The Nifty auto index slid 1.5%, ahead of monthly sales data, while the Nifty Bank index fell 1%.
The rupee hit a fresh record low of 79.11 against the dollar, versus Thursday's close of 78.97.
Asian stock market peers got off to a shaky start on Friday as investors assessed risks to the economic outlook from inflation and interest-rate hikes.
