India stocks drop as rising oil prices fuel inflation worries
Indian stocks dropped the most in over two weeks Wednesday, pulled down by concerns that rising crude oil prices could boost inflation in Asia’s third-largest economy.
India imports 85% of the oil and close to 50% of all natural gas sold in the country. December Brent Crude hovered at a multi-year high, trading above $83 a barrel, following the OPEC+ cartel's refusal to ramp up production more rapidly against a backdrop of global energy crunch, reported Reuters.
The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty50 index closed 0.99% lower at 17,646 points. The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.93% lower at 59,189.73 points.
All 15 Nifty sectoral indices retreated, with the Metal index, a basket of 15 stocks including National Aluminium Company, dropping 2.98%.
Gainers and losers
The Indian rupee was trading 0.49% lower to the US dollar, to INR74.93 at 17:54 hours Indian time (UTC+5:30).
On the Nifty, shares of Tata Consumer Products, energy giant Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), and agrochemicals maker UPL were the top gainers, adding 2.48%, 2.23% and 1.66% respectively.
Aluminium maker Hindalco Industries, the SBI Life Insurance Company, and IndusInd Bank were the top losers, shedding 4.10%, 3.64% and 3.39% respectively.
On the Sensex, shares in mortgage giant Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), the nation's leading private sector lender HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance, and were the biggest gainers, adding 1.24%, 0.26% and 0.18% respectively.
IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, and two- and three-wheeler major Bajaj Auto were the biggest losers, shedding 3.38%, 2.81% and 2.39% respectively.
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Cryptocurrency fundraiser
Cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch Kuber said Wednesday it raised $260m from US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and from Coinbase Ventures. The fundraiser makes CoinSwitch Kuber, the second crypto unicorn in India (with CoinDCX being the first), valuing the firm at $1.9bn.
Blackout concerns
The Ministry of Coal announced Tuesday amended rules that now permit the open market sale of up to half the annual coal and lignite produced at captive mines. Captive mines are those owned by companies that produce coal exclusively for their use.
The move follows rising electricity demand and severe coal shortages that threaten nationwide electricity blackouts. Power demand on 4 October stood at 174,000 megawatts (MW), a 15,000 MW increase over the corresponding day in the previous year, as per a power ministry statement
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