Indian shares decline as US rate hike fears weigh

BENGALURU, Oct 10 (Reuters): Indian shares fell on Monday, pulled down by automobile and consumer stocks, and as broader investor sentiment soured after a strong US jobs report triggered fears the Federal Reserve would persist with aggressive rate hikes.
The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.43 per cent to 17,241 at close, and the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.34 per cent to 57,991.11. Earlier in the day, both the indexes declined over 1.4 per cent to register their sharpest intraday drop in two weeks.
"Continued high inflation and its impact on growth and interest rates will keep investors on tenterhooks as far as external factors are concerned," said Rahul Shah, co-head of research at Equitymaster.
Globally, shares fell on Monday after a series of explosions in the Ukrainian capital and renewed concern about the economic outlook, drove investors away from risky assets.
Providing some boost to the benchmark index, Nifty IT index rose 1.06 per cent. IT service provider Tata Consultancy Services, set to kick off domestic earnings season after market close, ended 1.8 per cent higher.
"Quarterly results will be keenly watched and barring a couple of sectors, India Inc is expected to put up a below par show on the back of rising energy costs and lower realisations," Shah said.
Tata Motors Ltd and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. were the top losers on the Nifty 50, declining 3.9 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.
Tata Motors fell as much as 4.6 per cent after wholesale volumes of Jaguar Land Rover business fell below expectations, prompting top brokerages to cut price targets.