Financials, IT drag Indian shares after RBI flags inflation concerns

BENGALURU, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Friday, dragged by financials and information technology (IT) stocks, after the Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) policy meeting minutes flagged near-term inflation risks.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index was down 0.47% at 19,293.50 at 9:50 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.48% to 64,943.43.

Among broader domestic indexes, mid-caps (.NIFMDCP100) mirrored the slide in blue-chips, while small-caps (.NIFSMCP100) gained 0.2%.

Twelve of Niftys 13 major sectoral indexes declined, with financial services (.NIFTYFIN) and IT (.NIFTYIT) losing 0.5% each.

Including early losses in the session, the Nifty is little changed for the week. The index has logged losses for the last four weeks, after hitting a record high on July 20.

Analysts termed the ongoing consolidation “healthy” and expected it to continue with the support for Nifty pegged at the 50-day moving average of 19,375.

“Even if the market corrects in the near-term, equity return over the next 12 months is likely to remain healthy,” wrote analysts at Anand Rathi, citing strong macro and corporate fundamentals and liquidity.

The slide in domestic equities on Friday comes after the minutes of RBIs latest policy meeting flagged near-term risks to inflation due to a recent spike in food prices and a liquidity overhang in the banking system.

Investors now await Federal Reserve Chair Powell at an annual gathering of global central bankers, due later on Friday, for cues into the U.S. central banks rate trajectory. Asian markets edged lower.

Among individual stocks, Shoppers Stop (SHOP.NS) tumbled nearly 10% after the resignation of managing director and CEO Venu Nair.

Jio Financial Services (JIOF.NS) hit the 5% lower circuit for the fifth session in a row since its listing on Monday.