The new logo of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building is seen in Mumbai, India, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
BENGALURU, Aug 22 (Reuters) – Indian shares were muted on Tuesday as a slide in information technology (IT) stocks offset broader sectoral gains amid risk aversion due to persistent concerns over the health of China’s economy and U.S. interest rates.
The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index was up 0.09% at 19,410.65 at 10:18 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.07% to 65,273.87.
Ten of the 13 major sectoral indexes logged gains, with high weightage financials (.NIFTYFIN) adding 0.4%, led by a 2.5% uptick in HDFC Life Insurance (HDFL.NS). The insurer’s stock had logged losses in six of the last seven sessions.
IT firms (.NIFTYIT), which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., lost 0.5% on rising rate concerns in the world’s largest economy.
Adani group stocks extended their rally for fourth session, climbing between 0.5% and 5%, after GQG Partner raised stake in Adani Ports (APSE.NS) last week.
Flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) climbed 2.5%, pushing the metal index (.NIFTYMET) 1% higher. Adani Enterprises has a more than 16% weightage in the metal index.
“It is time to be prudent, to be in the wait-and-watch mode or book profits rather than going all out to buy,” said Umesh Mehta, chief investment officer at Samco Securities.
“The risk-reward is not favourable in the near term for equity investors, not only in India but across the world.”
Asian markets recovered some of the losses after a sharp slide in the previous session on concerns over China’s economy.
Among individual stocks, the newly listed Jio Financial Services (JIOF.NS) lost another 5% on Tuesday after shedding 5% in its market debut on Monday.
“While Reliance’s track record in disrupting retail and telecom segments has been impressive, lending is a different game,” cautioned analysts at Nomura.
“Jio Financial’s execution capabilities would only become clear with time.”
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K, Sohini Goswami and Dhanya Ann Thoppil
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