Indian shares join global slide as Mideast woes mount

Business Recorder reported that Indian equities fell on Wednesday in step with global markets after renewed U.S.-Iran strikes raised the risk of disruption to oil supplies. The Nifty 50 closed 0.59% lower at 23,914.45, while the Sensex dropped 0.49% to 76,570.35, having been down 0.7% and 0.6% respectively just before the closing auction. Concerns about inflation returned as a worldwide bond sell-off pushed borrowing costs to multi-decade highs.

The report notes that India ranks third among the largest importers and users of crude, so a prolonged climb in crude prices could lift living costs, weigh on growth and enlarge the import bill. Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities said a steep rise in crude, driven by tensions in West Asia, had sharply reduced traders' appetite for risk.

Hero MotoCorp slid 4.6% after exports and market share both weakened in August, and the auto index overall dropped 1.8%. Swiggy declined 2.7% amid worries over a cap on foreign ownership, while Coal India climbed 4.1% after several brokerages suggested higher pricing could lift its earnings this quarter. Brent crude added 0.3% to $95 a barrel, having earlier touched a near six-month peak, and eleven of the 16 major sectors ended lower.