INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares extend fall, rupee at record low as Mideast deal optimism fades
Updates for morning trade
By Bharath Rajeswaran
May 12 (Reuters) - Indian shares extended losses and the rupee slid to a record low on Tuesday, weighed down by elevated crude prices, as fragile negotiations to end the Iran war fuelled concerns over global supply and economic fallout.
The Nifty 50 .NSEI was down 0.69% at 23,652.4, as of 10:15 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN shed 0.82% to 75,386.61. Both benchmarks slumped about 1.5% and 1.7%, respectively, on Monday.
Sentiment was also hit after Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend urged fuel conservation and restraint on gold purchases to help preserve foreign exchange reserves, with jewellers, oil firms and travel stocks down for a second session.
The rupee slipped to a record low , pressured by concerns over India's import bill as crude prices hovered near $105 a barrel and foreign outflows continued.
Asian markets .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.7% on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was "on life support" and dismissed Tehran's response to a U.S. peace proposal as "stupid", raising fears of a prolonged conflict.
Higher crude prices are a key risk for India, the world's third-largest oil importer, as they can stoke inflation, pressure the currency and weigh on growth and corporate earnings.
Investors awaited India's April retail inflation data, due later in the day, for clues on how far higher fuel costs have fed into domestic prices.
A Reuters poll showed annual inflation likely edged closer to the Reserve Bank of India's 4% target in April from 3.4% in March.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 dropped 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively.
"Lack of breakthrough in U.S.-Iran peace talks, weakness in rupee along with continued foreign selling pressure have weighed on market sentiment, with broad-based selling pressure across sectors," Bajaj Broking Research said.
Financials .NIFTYFIN lost 1%, while IT .NIFTYIT sub-index tumbled 3.3% ahead of U.S. inflation data, with TCS TCS.NS, Infosys INFY.NS, HCLTech HCLT.NS and Wipro WIPR.NS down between 2.5% and 4%.
In contrast, ONGC ONGC.NS and Oil India OILI.NS climbed 6% and 6.6%, respectively, after brokerage CLSA termed the government's royalty cuts on crude oil and gas production as a significant positive for the two companies.
