INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares slip ahead of third-quarter earnings on rate worries
Indian shares edged lower on Friday, after strong U.S. data indicated the Federal Reserve would have to keep hiking interest rates. The Nifty 50 index was down 0.26% at 17,944.95 as... | January 6,…

BENGALURU, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Indian shares edged lower
on Friday, after strong U.S. data indicated the Federal Reserve
would have to keep hiking interest rates. The Nifty 50 index was down 0.26% at 17,944.95 as of
10:30 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.30% to
60,164.87. Both the indexes had risen 0.3% during the session. Most of the major sectoral indexes logged losses.
Twenty-five of the Nifty 50 constituents fell, with information
technology stocks declining ahead of the third
quarter earnings season, set to begin on Monday. "The nervousness in the markets over the last few sessions
is due to muted earnings expectations, like the kind we saw with
Bajaj Finance and FMCG companies," said Aishvarya Dadheech,
director and fund manager at Ambit Asset Management. "Fund flows, including from domestic mutual funds have not
been very encouraging, over the last few months," he added. Wall Street equities closed lower overnight after data
showed private employers hired more workers than expected in
December, suggesting strength in the labour market. The
resilience could allow the Fed to boost its target interest rate
above the 5.1% peak projected earlier. Asian markets shrugged off rate worries on Friday, with the
MSCI Asia ex Japan rising 0.74%. Global macro data and commentary on the Fed's rate hike
trajectory would add to market volatility in the near term, said
analysts. Adding to losses in Indian equities was the rebound in oil
prices, which rose over 1% on lower fuel inventories in the
U.S. Higher oil prices are a negative for oil-importing countries
like India, where crude constitutes the bulk of the country's
import bill. Among individual stocks, index heavyweight Reliance
Industries rose over 1%, capping losses in the
markets. Sobha rose over 2% after the real estate firm
posted its best-ever sales in the third quarter, according to
its business update.
($1 = 82.5680 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by
Janane Venkatraman)