Indian benchmarks slide as IT stocks, derivatives expiry weigh

India's benchmark indexes posted their steepest declines in nearly two months on Thursday, dragged down by heavyweight IT firms and as investors adjusted positions due to the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts, reports Reuters.
The NSE Nifty 50 fell 1.49 per cent to 23,914.15, while the BSE Sensex lost 1.48 per cent to 79,043.74.
The Nifty 50 monthly derivatives series expired on Thursday, which meant that investors have to close or roll over their contracts. The Bank Nifty derivatives contracts expired on Wednesday.
The small- and mid-caps bucked the weakness to end little changed as they have no derivatives and minimal exposure to IT stocks.
"The decline in markets today is mainly due to the expiry pressure of the current month's futures and options contracts," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities.
IT stocks tumbled 2.39 per cent after US inflation and consumer spending data overnight suggested interest rate cuts could be slower than expected. That could impact spending by clients in the US, a key market for IT companies.