Indian shares fell for a fourth straight session on Monday, as weak results from software giant Infosys sparked a selloff in IT stocks while global inflation concerns also weighed on sentiment.
The NSE Nifty 50 index settled 1.73% lower at 17,173.65 and the S&P BSE Sensex was down 2.01% at 57,166.74. Both indexes lost more than 1.5% last week in holiday-shortened trading.
Infosys, the no. 2 software services provider, closed 7.3% lower after hitting an eight-month low earlier in the session.
Last week, the company posted quarterly profit below expectations, raising fears of growth normalisation in the sector after a pandemic-led boom.
Rival Tata Consultancy Services also slightly missed results estimates last week. Its shares closed 3.7% lower on Monday.
The Nifty IT subindex, down 4.6%, was the biggest decliner on the benchmark.
"It was a weak set of numbers from Infosys and TCS also was a disappointment; the companies are under a lot of cost pressure and this will affect mid-cap stocks and we will see a valuation reset," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president at SMC Securities.
Top private-sector lender HDFC Bank also weighed on the Nifty 50, extending declines to an eighth straight session and ending 4.7% lower. It had also posted weak March quarter results over the weekend.
The Indian rupee dropped on Monday to its lowest in nearly a month against the dollar, tracking losses in the stock market and weighed by sharp gains in global crude oil prices. Bond yields pulled back from session highs on short-covering.
"Globally, inflation concerns continue to be on investors' minds; any new developments on the Russia-Ukraine situation would be a key deciding factor going forward," Jain added.
