Indian benchmarks slide as IT stocks, derivatives expiry weigh
Updates for markets close
By Bharath Rajeswaran
Nov 28 (Reuters) -India's benchmark indexes posted their steepest declines in nearly two months on Thursday, dragged down by heavyweight IT firms and as investors adjusted positions due to the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts.
The NSE Nifty 50 .NSEI fell 1.49% to 23,914.15, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN lost 1.48% to 79,043.74.
The Nifty 50 monthly derivatives series expired on Thursday, which meant that investors have to close or roll over their contracts. The Bank Nifty derivatives contracts expired on Wednesday.
The small- .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 bucked the weakness to end little changed as they have no derivatives and minimal exposure to IT stocks.
"The decline in markets today is mainly due to the expiry pressure of the current month's futures and options contracts," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities.
IT stocks .NIFTYIT tumbled 2.39% after U.S. inflation and consumer spending data overnight suggested interest rate cuts could be slower than expected. That could impact spending by clients in the U.S., a key market for IT companies.
" ... (the) market seems to have found an excuse for profit booking in IT stocks," said Santosh Meena, head of research at Swastika Investmart.
The IT index has rallied about 9% this month, while the Nifty has gained just 0.3%.
Among individual stocks, Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS, the Adani Group's flagship firm, rose 1.6%. Adani Green Energy ADNA.NS and Adani Energy Solutions ADAI.NS jumped 10% each.
Adani Total Gas ADAG.NS surged 16% as the conglomerate's stocks continued their rebound from a selloff that was triggered by the U.S. indictment of the group's founder last week. The Group has denied all allegations.
Insurers SBI Life SBIL.NS fell 5.1% and HDFC Life HDFL.NS lost 3.4%, the most on the Nifty, after a media report said the insurance regulator may consider a cap on insurers selling products to their parent bank's clients.
That dragged financials .NIFTYFIN by about 0.75%.
India's Nifty 50 posts worst session since early October https://reut.rs/3VccreK
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Sonia Cheema and Savio D'Souza
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