BENGALURU (Reuters) -India shares settled lower for a fourth straight session on Monday as investors pulled back from riskier assets after comments from the Kremlin partially dampened hopes of a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine standoff.
The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.4% to 17,206.65, while the S&P BSE Sensex settled down 0.26% at 57,683.59.
The blue-chip indexes had turned positive briefly during the choppy trading session as banks climbed. Nifty’s small-cap index slid 2.8% and mid-cap index fell 0.8%.
Both benchmark indexes are down nearly 1% so far this month as tensions surrounding Ukraine and the possibility of monetary tightening by the U.S Federal Reserve weighed on investor sentiment.
“Any developments surrounding the Russia-Ukraine crisis will remain at the forefront of investor focus, until there is further clarity on the situation, negative moves will continue to dominate domestic markets,” said Anita Gandhi, director, at Arihant Capital Markets.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had agreed in principle to hold a summit on Ukraine. The news boosted Wall Street futures and helped broader Asian peers recoup some losses. [MKTS/GLOB]
But the Kremlin said there were no concrete plans yet for a summit.
In India, all major Nifty sub-indexes except those tracking banks settled in the red. Nifty’s realty and metal sub-indexes closed down 1.4% and 2.1%, respectively.
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation settled 1.8% lower after co-founder Rakesh Gangwal resigned from the board and said he would cut his stake slowly over the next five years.
Nifty’s bank and private-bank index, which had slipped more than 1% each, reversed course to settle 0.23% and 0.25% higher, respectively.
Electrical appliance maker Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances closed 7.8% higher after local media reports said Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals would likely buy a stake in the firm.
(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
