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Indian shares off to soft start, dragged down by IndusInd Bank, NTPC

Indian shares were off to a soft begin on Friday after a fourday slide on lacklustre revenues and consistent foreign outflows, dragged down by a drop in personal lender IndusInd Bank and power company NTPC on frustrating quarterly outcomes.

The NSE Nifty 50 was 0.08% lower at 24,379.45 points since 9:25 a.m. IST, while S&P BSE Sensex inched down 0.05% to 80,020.48.

The Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex have dropped about 2% and 1.5%, respectively, up until now today and are on course for their fourth straight week of decreases - longest such losing streak because August 2023.

Both the benchmarks are down about 7% from record highs hit on Sept. 27 and are on track for their worst regular monthly efficiency because March 2020.

Analysts associated the drop to dull revenues and persistent foreign selling over the last 19 sessions, as investors rerouted funds to China from India on Beijing's stimulus steps and fairly less expensive valuations.

Shares of Nifty 50 constituent IndusInd Bank fell 10% after the lender reported a surprise drop in its September-quarter profit due to tension in microfinance loans, which caused higher provisions, lower property quality and narrow lending margins.

NTPC lost 2.3% after it publishing an earnings drop in the second quarter on lower power generation.

Nine of the 13 significant sectors logged losses at the open. The more comprehensive, more domestically focussed little- and mid-caps shed 0.5% each.

Meanwhile, other Asian markets opened higher, tracking Wall Street's positive overnight close as strong revenues allayed concerns over U.S. governmental elections.

(source: Reuters)