Indian shares fall as oil prices rise; U.S. inflation data in focus
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BENGALURU - Indian shares gave up early gains on Wednesday to extend losses to a fourth straight session as oil prices rose, while investors awaited U.S. inflation data for cues on the Federal Reserve's rate hike plans.
The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.78% at 16,114.10 as of 0457 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.85% to 53,900.18.
"We are not seeing signs of Nifty stabilising since the benchmark broke 16,400 levels. The broader sentiment remains negative and so there is not a lot of buying interest and the mood is sell-on-rise," said Yesha Shah, head of equity research at Samco Securities.
Oil rose on Wednesday over supply concerns as the European Union worked on gaining support for a ban on Russian oil and major producers warned they may struggle to fill the gap when demand improves. [O/R]
"Rise in oil prices is one of the reasons given India’s vulnerability (for fall in equities) but I mostly think it is in anticipation of inflation print that is going to come for U.S. and India," Shah said.
A Reuters poll found India's retail inflation likely surged to an 18-month high in April, largely driven by rising fuel and food prices.
India's consumer price inflation data is due to be released at 1200 GMT on Thursday.
Foreign investors have sold Indian equities worth $1.82 billion so far this month, shedding stocks worth $374 million in the fourth straight day of net selling on Tuesday, Refinitiv data showed.
Nifty's auto, FMCG, IT sub-indexes fell between 0.7% and 1%.
Nifty 50 component Adani Ports, down 0.2%, is scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday after hitting close to two-year lows in the previous session, ahead of keenly awaited U.S. inflation data due at 1230 GMT. [MKTS/GLOB]
