Bajaj Auto was the top loser in Nifty 50 and Nifty Auto index, which fell nearly 1%.
($1 = 82.8973 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)
+919769003463)) (Adds opening levels)
By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on
Monday, with the benchmark Nifty briefly slipping below a key
long-term average for the first time in over four months, led by
tech stocks after U.S. data reinforced fears of a prolonged high
interest rate regime.
The Nifty 50 index fell 0.34% to 17,404.50, while
the S&P BSE Sensex edged 0.31% lower to 59,288 as of
9:44 a.m. IST.
The Nifty 50 fell below the 200-day moving average
early in the session for the first time since early October
2022, though it has moved above that level since.
Nine of the 13 sectoral indexes declined, with the
high-weightage information technology stocks losing
over 1.5% and all its 10 constituents in the red.
The drop in the IT sector, which earns a significant share
of its revenue from the United States, comes after Wall Street
slid following data that showed the personal consumption
expenditures price index, the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred
inflation measure, accelerated in January.
The data heightened fears among investors that the Fed might
have to keep rates higher for longer to tackle inflation.
Fed futures now have rates peaking around 5.42%, suggesting
at least three more hikes from the current 4.50-4.75% band. Among individual stocks, Bajaj Auto fell as much
as 4.3% after a report said that the company could take a steep
cut in production of motorcycles and three-wheelers across its
export-focused plants in March due to uncertainties in its
biggest market, Nigeria.
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