Indian shares log longest weekly losing streak in 15 months

BENGALURU, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Indian shares posted their longest weekly losing streak since May 2022 on Friday, dragged by IT stocks, as concerns over U.S. interest rates and Chinas flagging economic recovery dampened risk appetite.

Both the blue chips Nifty 50 (.NSEI) and Sensex (.BSESN) declined for a fourth consecutive week. The Nifty 50 has lost 3.4% since hitting a record high on July 20.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index closed 0.28% lower at 19,310.15 on the day, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.31% to 64,948.66.

Information technology (IT) firms (.NIFTYIT) shed 1.47% and was the top sectoral loser.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS), Infosys (INFY.NS), Wipro (WIPR.NS) were among the top Nifty 50 losers, falling between 1% and 2%.

\“Concerns over prolonged high interest rates and worries over the financial sector in the U.S. will obviously hurt Indian IT firms as BFSI (banking and financial services) is their largest client base,\” said Pramod Gubbi, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers.

High-weightage Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) rose 0.74% after the Bombay Stock Exchange announced that the recently demerged Jio Financial Services will be listed on Monday, Aug. 21.

Global shares declined as investors bet on U.S. interest rates staying elevated for longer, with worries over Chinas shadow banking sector also weighing on sentiment.

\“The ongoing consolidation (in Indian shares) over the last four weeks is healthy for the markets, as temporary pullbacks are a defining feature of every bull market,\” Gubbi added.

Meanwhile, both Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) climbed more than 3% to the top of the Nifty 50 index after a media report said Abu Dhabi energy and utility firm TAQA (TAQA.AD) is considering investing nearly $2.5 billion in the Indian conglomerates power businesses.

Both TAQA and Adani Group denied the report.