India’s two main share indexes were lower by late morning Friday, extending a three-session slide, as oil-related supply concerns offset early strength in technology stocks, Reuters reported.
At 12:43 a.m. ET Friday (04:43 UTC), the Nifty 50 stood at 22,529.15, down 0.70%, and the Sensex was at 72,964.13, down 0.39%, Reuters reported. Both benchmarks had started higher. At the cash-market opening, the Nifty 50 was at 22,726, up 0.16%, and the Sensex was at 73,634.08, up 0.53%. Each index had lost about 2% over the previous three sessions.
Before the session, GIFT Nifty futures were at 22,830.50 at 10:12 p.m. ET Thursday (02:12 UTC Friday), above the Nifty 50’s previous close of 22,687.65. Reuters said the futures pointed to a higher opening. Its premarket report cited Brent crude futures at $113.50 a barrel as markets weighed further energy disruption after attacks in Saudi Arabia.
In a statement published Oct. 22 by the Saudi Press Agency, Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi attributed two attacks to Houthi forces and named King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and the Shaybah oil field as targets. The statement said the incidents caused deaths, injuries and property damage. It gave no figure for any effect on Shaybah’s production.
Sector trading showed how narrow the gains were. At the opening, the IT index was up 3% while 11 of 16 major sectors were lower. By 12:43 a.m. ET, the IT index’s gain had eased to 1% and 15 sectors were lower, Reuters reported.
The decline extended the benchmarks’ losses over the previous three sessions amid rising oil prices. Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, founder and CEO of HST Wealth, told Reuters that prices around $114 a barrel could add to inflationary pressure and weigh on consumption and corporate profits. Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, told Reuters that quarterly results and companies’ descriptions of demand would give investors clues about near-term trading.
