Indian shares flat on global growth concerns, rise in oil prices

BENGALURU, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Indian shares were little changed on Wednesday, on risk aversion after data from major economies around the world fuelled worries about global growth amid rising oil prices.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index was down 0.02% at 19,572.30 at 10:00 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.05% to 65,748.55.

Data from the euro zone and Britain also showed a slide in business activity in August, while a lower-than-expected fall in factory orders in the U.S. in July and hawkish commentary from a Federal official reignited rate concerns.

Adding to the worries is the rise in Brent crude futures to above $90-mark for the first time since November 2022 on concerns over supply shortage after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended their voluntary output cuts to the end of the year.

“It will be prudent for short-term investors to book some profit as valuations are stretched across sectors,” said Ajit Banerjee, chief investment officer of Shriram Life Insurance Company.

Pharma index (.NIPHARM) added 0.7% and is on course to rise for the third straight session. Analysts attributed the rise to strong growth momentum and scope for further profitability in U.S. markets.

Among individual stocks, NBCC (NBCC.NS) climbed 4% after winning a 20 billion rupee work order from Kerala State Housing Board.

Jio Financial Services (JIOF.NS) fell 3% after the National Stock Exchange (NSE) said it will remove the shares from Nifty 50 and other NSE indexes from Thursday.