INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares slip; investors await Jio IPO

By Reuters News

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Indian shares declined on Monday, with private banks leading the losses as investors digested earnings from key lenders, while elevated crude prices weighed on sentiment.

Investors awaited the country's largest-ever IPO by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms that opens for subscription on Wednesday.

Private sector banks .NIFPVTBNK dropped 1.9%, with HDFC Bank HDBK.NS and Axis Bank AXBK.NS losing 2.3% and 4.2%, respectively, after missing quarterly earnings views amid narrowing margins.

"With earnings of most banks largely in line with, or ahead of, expectations, barring Axis Bank, the selloff looked disproportionate and reflected profit-taking after last week's sharp rally," said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research, wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

India's benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI fell 1.11% to 22,888.95, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN declined 1.17% to 73,852.90.

The NSE weekly derivatives expiry pushed up volatility .NIFVIX to about 15, the highest in a week.

The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 shed 1% and 1.1%, respectively. Indian financial markets will be closed on Tuesday for a local holiday.

Fifteen of the 16 major sectors fell, with the IT index .NIFTYIT slipping 1.3% after a 3.9% gain in the previous session. LTM LTIM.NS fell 2.9% after missing quarterly profit estimates.

Public sector banks .NIFTYPSU rose 2.5%, led by Punjab National Bank's PNBK.NS 4.8% surge after it reported an expansion in net interest margin. Union Bank of India UNBK.NS jumped 5.3% after posting a rise in profit while asset quality improved sequentially.

UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS fell 2.4% after the country's largest cement producer by capacity reported quarterly profit that missed analysts' estimates.

Elsewhere, US President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs on Russia in a move that could increase Russian fuel exports and ease supply concerns. However, persistent Middle East tensions continued to support oil prices with Brent at $108.5 a barrel. O/R

Capital.com is an execution-only brokerage platform and the content provided on the Capital.com website is intended for informational purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the products or securities to which it applies. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided.

The information provided does not constitute investment advice nor take into account the individual financial circumstances or objectives of any investor. Any information that may be provided relating to past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results or performance.

To the extent permitted by law, in no event shall Capital.com (or any affiliate or employee) have any liability for any loss arising from the use of the information provided. Any person acting on the information does so entirely at their own risk.

Any information which could be construed as “investment research” has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication.