Indian shares drop as IT slips on US slowdown worries

Wednesday,   04-Sep-2024   10:35 AM (IST)

India's benchmark indexes declined dragged by information technology stocks and tracking a drop in Asian shares on resurgent worries of a slowdown in the United States. The Nifty 50 index fell 0.65% to 25,116.15 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.58% at 82,080.65 as of 10:30 a.m. IST. Indian shares ended flat on Tuesday, halting a record 13-session rising streak. Asian shares fell on Wednesday, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index losing about 1.75%, tracking a decline in Wall Street equities overnight. Eleven of the 13 major sectors logged losses on the day. The broader, more domestically focussed small-caps rose 0.5% while mid-caps shed 0.3%. Information technology companies which earn a significant share of their revenues from the U.S., lost 1.5% and were the top sectoral losers. Defence-linked companies rose after India's defence acquisition council approved proposals worth 1.45 trillion rupees ($17.27 billion) to enhance the operational capabilities of the armed forces.General Insurance Corp of India fell 4.6% after the government proposed to sell a 6.8% stake in the company at a floor price of 395 rupees per share, a 6.3% discount to its last close. Tepid U.S. manufacturing data has spurred worries about a potential slowdown in the world's largest economy. A slew of U.S. economic data is due this week, including readings on job openings, jobless claims and the closely-watched nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.