Indian shares see worst day since April

Indian shares saw their worst one-day fall since April, tumbling nearly 2 per cent on Thursday, with metal stocks leading losses on easing supply problems.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 1.94 per cent and 1.89 per cent to 17,857.25 and 59,984.70, respectively.

Copper and aluminium prices hit multi-month lows on improving availability, pulling down the Nifty metals index (.NIFTYMET) 3.4 per cent.

“The fall in commodity prices is starting to reflect in metal stocks,” said Vijay L Bhambwani, head of research at Equitymaster, adding that the global prices would further ease in coming months.

Monthly expiry of futures and options also spurred selling, analysts said, adding that a fall below 18,000 in the Nifty forced some investors to cover their positions.

India’s benchmark stock indexes have risen more than 25 per cent this year, driven by massive liquidity and huge retail participation, raising concerns that some companies are over-valued.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Indian equities to equal weight from overweight on Thursday due to expensive valuations and said it expects the market to consolidate ahead of potential “short-term headwinds”.

The downgrade follows similar moves by Nomura and UBS.

Shares of India’s largest port operator Adani Ports (APSE.NS) fell as much as 8.7 per cent on lower quarterly profit as well as its move to pull out of Myanmar.