Indian shares end lower as bank stocks weigh; rate hike worries loom

Wednesday,   18-May-2022   04:29 PM (IST)

Indian shares shed gains from earlier in the session to end lower as rate-sensitive bank and realty stocks declined, with concerns over inflation and global economic growth denting investor sentiment. The NSE Nifty 50 index ended down 0.12% at 16,240.30 and the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.2% to 54,208.53. The indexes had gained 0.86% each earlier in the session. Nifty's public sector bank and realty indexes were the top losers, falling over 1% each. Power Grid Corp was Nifty's top percentage loser, down 4.5%, while its IT index, which was the top gainer earlier in the session, settled 0.47% lower. Cigarettes-to-hotel conglomerate ITC was up 0.79%, ahead of its quarterly earnings results. Bharat Rasayan closed 4.1% lower after the chemical manufacturing firm said late on Tuesday that a fire broke out at one of its plants in the western state of Gujarat leaving eight to 10 people injured. Broader Asian shares eked out gains, while European stocks were mixed on inflation and economic growth worries. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday pledged the U.S. central bank would ratchet interest rates as high as needed to kill a surge in inflation.