INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares down on oil rise, insurance overhaul worries; NSE makes subdued debut

By Bharath Rajeswaran

Sept 24 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Thursday as surging oil prices stoked inflation concerns and weighed on sentiment, while newly listed National Stock Exchange NSEI.BO made a subdued debut, opening at a modest 0.8% premium to the stock's issue price.

The country's biggest bourse listed at 1,800 rupees, compared to its listing price of 1,785 rupees.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI fell 0.91% to 23,234.95, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN shed 0.86% to 74,191.94, as of 10:03 a.m. IST.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Tehran would never surrender to US pressure, sending crude prices climbing once again. Brent hovered around $102 per barrel on Thursday. O/R

"The sharp spike in Brent crude above $102 and the rise in US 10-year bond yield will weigh on the market today. So long as these two global headwinds remain, the prospects of a smart recovery in the market appear remote," said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.

All the 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 fell 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively.

Banks and insurers led losses after the country's insurance regulator proposed overhauling commission rules to cap payouts, link them to product complexity and spread life insurers' commissions beyond a policy's first year.

Banks .NSEBANK and financials .NIFTYFIN fell 1.6% each.

PB Fintech PBFI.NS and Turtlemint Fintech TURE.NS tumbled 20% each. Axis Bank AXBK.NS and HDFC Bank HDBK.NS lost 3.5% and 1.3%.

"The IRDAI's proposals are likely to weigh on insurance industry growth, with PB Fintech appearing most exposed," said Macquarie analysts, adding, "Axis Bank and HDFC Bank remain more exposed among banks than ICICI and Kotak."

Nephrocare Health NEPR.NS fell 4.9% on reports that several large shareholders were likely to offload shares through a block deal worth up to 6.50 billion rupees, at a 5% discount.

Bharat Dynamics BARA.NS gained 1.4% after the country's defence ministry signed a 8.11-billion-rupee order with the company for anti-airfield weapons.