Indian shares ended lower for a fourth straight session Friday as traders weighed oil costs and supply risks in a country that relies heavily on imported crude.
The Sensex shed 125.56 points, or 0.17%, to 73,123.83, while the Nifty 50 lost 87.65 points, or 0.39%, to 22,600, Reuters reported. Both indexes rebounded from their session lows. Moneycontrol said the Sensex gained about 670 points from its low and the Nifty recovered 228 points before the close. The finish extended EconoTimes’ earlier coverage of the fourth-session decline.
Oil prices moved higher after the Indian market had closed. Brent futures were at $114.99 a barrel at 9 a.m. ET (13:00 UTC) on Oct. 23, up 1.5%, Reuters reported. The contract had touched $115.16, its highest level since May 4.
India’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell reported crude-oil import dependency of 88.2% in fiscal 2024-25. Reuters said investors were concerned that higher oil costs could add to inflation pressure and weaken earnings expectations.
India’s Embassy in Riyadh said attacks on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field on Oct. 21 caused civilian deaths and injuries. The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general attributed the attacks to Houthi militia in a statement reported by the Saudi Press Agency.
The pressure also showed in weekly trading. Reuters reported that small-cap shares fell 7.3% and mid-cap shares lost 5.6%, their biggest weekly declines in 20 months. Consumer durables, energy, fast-moving consumer goods and auto stocks dropped 6.4%, 4.6%, 4.3% and 3.5%, respectively, over the week. Reuters linked the sector losses to weaker earnings expectations for businesses that use crude.
“Oil is an immediate pressure point,” Rushabh Sheth, co-founder and co-CIO at Karma Capital, told Reuters. He described a weaker monsoon’s possible effect on water availability as a longer-term risk.
