Indian shares break three-day rally

Indian shares fell more than 1 per cent on Thursday, snapping three sessions of gains, as losses in financial and information technology stocks eclipsed gains in automakers.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) dropped 1.24 per cent to 17,560.2 and the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) slid 1.29 per cent to 58,788.02.

Both the indexes added 4 per cent in the past three sessions, with a rally sparked by the country’s high-spending federal budget accounting for most of those gains.

Sentiment was also weaker globally on Thursday after a disappointing forecast from Facebook owner Meta Platforms sent its stock 20 per cent lower and sparked a 2 per cent drop in Nasdaq futures.

In Mumbai, the Nifty IT index (.NIFTYIT) slid 2.1 per cent after gaining nearly 7 per cent over the last four sessions, with IT giant Infosys (INFY.NS) falling 2.7 per cent.

The Nifty Financial Services index (.NIFTYFIN) fell 1.4 per cent as top mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.NS) dropped 3.3 per cent in its worst day since late November.

Mahindra And Mahindra Financial Services (MMFS.NS) tumbled 5.3 per cent, its biggest fall since mid-November, as analysts flagged concerns about its asset quality.

Tyre makers JK Tyre (JKIN.NS) and Birla Tyres (BIRT.NS) dropped 2.3 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively, after India’s antitrust agency fined them for price cartelisation.

Jeweller and watch maker Titan Company (TITN.NS) rose as much as 1.7 per cent after posting strong quarterly results, but pared some gains to settle only 0.4 per cent higher.

The Nifty Auto index (.NIFTYAUTO) advanced 0.4 per cent, led by strong gains in two-wheeler makers TVS Motor (TVSM.NS) and Hero MotoCorp (HROM.NS).

Defence equipment maker Bharat Dynamics (BARA.NS) surged 3.3 per cent after signing a $419 million contract to supply anti-tank missiles to the Indian army.