Indian shares slide on oil surge as IT counters weigh on week
Indian shares slide on oil surge as IT counters weigh on week
Indian markets end the week lower as oil surges and IT stocks slide, with Adani Enterprises up on Uber data-center plans and ONGC rising on royalty cuts.
Indian shares penciled a weekly loss as oil prices surged and IT stocks faced renewed concerns over AI-led earnings disruption. The rupee weakened past the 96-per-dollar mark as energy-supply worries intensified after Brent crude climbed higher following tensions in the Middle East.
On the day, the Nifty 50 slipped 0.19% to 23,643.50 and the Sensex edged down 0.21% to 75,237.99, leaving both benchmarks with weekly declines of about 2.2% and 2.7% respectively. Thirteen of the 16 major sectors logged weekly losses, with small- and mid-caps down 4.6% and 2.2%.
IT stocks did see some end-of-week relief, with the IT index rising 1.3% on Friday, but the sector still closed the week down about 5.7% as investors weighed OpenAI's new AI venture backed by a $4 billion investment and the risk to IT earnings. A hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation print kept rate-hike expectations in play.
Analysts noted that investors had turned cautious given rising U.S. bond yields, a weaker rupee, and fuel-price dynamics reviving inflation concerns, though some favorable valuations and a strong quarterly earnings season offered some support.
Adani Enterprises rose 8.4% this week after Uber announced plans to set up its first India data center with the group, a sign of growing data-center investment in the country. News that the U.S. Justice Department could be close to dropping criminal fraud charges against founder Gautam Adani also buoyed sentiment.
ONGC gained 7.2% as the government cut royalties on crude oil and gas production, providing a cash-flow boost for the state-run explorer.
Meanwhile, the broader market mood remained cautious as investors weighed the twin forces of global energy prices and domestic policy signals, with no quick rebound in sight.
