India shares down as tech, autos drag; inflation data eyed

A security guard walks past the logo of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) inside its building in Mumbai, India, May 28, 2019. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

BENGALURU, Aug 12 (Reuters) – Indian shares edged lower in early trade on Friday, as technology and automobile stocks declined amid weakness in other Asian markets, while investors awaited domestic inflation data.

The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was down 0.09% at 17,643.20, as of 0350 GMT, and the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.08% to 59,287.62.

Nifty’s IT index (.NIFTYIT), which firmed up 1.79% on Thursday, declined 0.51%, while the auto index (.NIFTYAUTO) fell 0.24%.

Market participants are awaiting the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due later in the day. A Reuters poll showed India’s retail inflation likely eased in July due to a fall in food and fuel prices but remained well above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit of 6% for a seventh consecutive month. read more

Broader Asian equities tracked Wall Street’s overnight weakness as investors were jittery over uncertainty surrounding the pace of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to tackle inflation despite some softness last month.

Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil

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