Indian shares muted as oil slide offsets concerns over Fed's rate stance

Thursday,   08-Dec-2022   10:22 AM (IST)

Indian shares opened little changed on Thursday, as a sharp slide in oil prices offset concerns over a possible U.S. recession and the pace of the Federal Reserve's rate hikes. The Nifty 50 index was down 0.04% at 18,554.30, as of 09:30 a.m IST, and the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.07% to 62,368.04. Oil prices hovered near their lowest level in 2022 hit on Wednesday, pressured by rise in U.S. fuel inventories and growing concerns over economic slowdown. A slide in crude prices is a positive for oil importing countries like India, where crude accounts for the bulk of the import bill. Investors were, however, cautious as an upbeat U.S. worker productivity data , released on Wednesday, muddled the debate on the trajectory of Fed's rate hikes. Earlier this week, executives at top U.S. banks signalled they were bracing for a worsening economy next year as inflation threatens consumer demand. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India struck a hawkish note on Wednesday, after announcing an increase in its key lending rate and reiterated its focus on taming stubbornly high inflation. Asian shares, led by Hong Kong and China, rebounded from a mixed start despite global growth worries, with the MSCI Asia ex Japan index rising 0.78%. Among individual stocks, Eicher Motors, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports were the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index, rising over 1%, while SBI Life, HDFC Life, Kotak Mahindra Bank declined over 1%. The Nifty PSU Bank index, which tracks state-owned lenders, climbed as much as 1.7% and were headed for their sixth straight session of gains.