Indian shares end lower as higher oil prices, foreign outflows dent appetite

Indian equities finished lower on Wednesday, according to Business Recorder, as firmer crude and steady foreign selling weighed on sentiment. At the close, the Nifty 50 lost 0.44% and stood at 22,622.70, whereas the BSE Sensex retreated 0.34% to 72,781.89. Eight of 16 major sectors ended in the red, and small-caps and mid-caps lost 0.3% and 0.1% respectively. Both benchmarks had climbed about 1.6% a day earlier, with technology shares leading after HCLTech reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Crude rose to $106 per barrel as two ships were hit in the Strait of Hormuz, raising supply worries, while officials in Iran described new methods aimed at vessels. Investors are also waiting for key US inflation figures due later today, looking for signals on the Federal Reserve's rate path. Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research at Ventura, said the market direction would be shaped by global risk appetite, currency moves, crude prices and earnings momentum.

Overseas portfolio investors stretched their selling run to 13 sessions as of Tuesday, pushing year-to-date outflows to $32.52 billion, a record. Tata Elxsi, an engineering R&D company, rose 5.7% following its stronger quarterly profit. Bank of Baroda dropped 4% after BR Shetty, a UAE-based businessman who founded NMC Healthcare, sued the state lender and 25 other parties for $15 billion at the Bombay High Court.