BENGALURU, Dec 13 (Reuters) - India's benchmark indexes fell on Wednesday, dragged by information technology (IT) stocks following inflation concerns from U.S. data, while Asian peers suffered losses in anticipation of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision.
The NSE Nifty 50 index shed 0.31% to 20,840.90 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.32% to 69,327.07, as of 10:16 a.m. IST.
The IT sector, with a weightage of 13.64% in Nifty 50, shed 1.5%. All 10 constituents logged losses. Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys were among the top Nifty 50 losers, falling between 1.5% and 2.3%.
The decline in shares of IT companies, heavily reliant on U.S. revenue, comes after data showed a surprise rise in Consumer Price Index (CPI) in November on a month-on-month basis.
The data raised doubts about the possibility of a Fed rate cut in the first half of 2024.
Asian markets were down ahead of the Fed's policy decision, due at 12:30 a.m. IST on Thursday.
"Tonight’s Fed message is important for global markets, which will wait for Chair Jerome Powell's commentary before taking a decisive turn," said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
However, lower-than-expected domestic retail inflation data, an increase in factory output and a fall in global crude oil prices may continue to support Indian equities, two analysts said.
Energy stocks gained 0.4% as Brent crude futures fell to a six-month low, after U.S. inflation data added to demand worries amid persistent oversupply concerns.
A decline in oil prices benefits importers like India and its oil marketing companies. Bharat Petroleum Corporation added 1.5% and was among the top Nifty 50 gainers.
Laurus Labs lost 3% after U.S. drug regulator issued Form-483 with five observations following an inspection at the drug maker's Andhra Pradesh facility.
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Sonia Cheema an Dhanya Ann Thoppil
Source: Reuters