Indian shares edged lower on Wednesday, weighed by metal stocks that fell as a strong dollar hurt global metal prices while financials declined after a rally in the previous session.
The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) shed 0.09% to 23,702 at 10:25 a.m. IST and the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) was down 0.03% to 78,024.33. The Sensex rose about 0.15% to a record high in early trade.
“There are lack of triggers, so the moves on Nifty could be incremental but the outlook is positive given the liquidity surplus due to rising investor base, macroeconomic and earnings outlook,” Aishvarya Dadheech, founder and chief investment officer of Fident Asset Managers said.
India’s national budget and companies’ quarterly results, both due next month, will decide the markets’ trajectory in the near term, Dadheech said.
Financials (.NIFTYFIN) and private banks (.NIFPVTBNK), which have outperformed the benchmarks so far in June, were both down 0.3%. They have risen 8% this month compared with a 5% gain for the Nifty 50.
Metals (.NIFTYMET) fell 1.3% on soft global prices due to a strong dollar.
A firmer U.S. dollar makes dollar-denominated metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
Investors awaited a key U.S. inflation print due this week, which could impact the greenback.
Miner Vedanta (VDAN.NS), which has a nearly one-tenth weightage in the metal index, was down 3% after its parent announced plans to sell 2.6% stake to a group of institutional investors.
Realty stocks (.NIFTYREAL) dropped 1% while auto shares (.NIFTYAUTO) shed 0.5%. The consumer index (.NIFTYFMCG) was little changed.
State-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MAZG.NS) rose 4.5% to a record high after getting the so-called “Navratna’ status from the government, giving the company freedom to make bigger investments.
Sanghi Industries (SNGI.NS) fell on a top shareholders’ stake sale, which was at a discount to its previous close.
