Earnings-driven gains in key stocks help Indian shares cap losses

BENGALURU, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Thursday, tracking a selloff in global stocks on worries over escalating tensions in the Middle East, while earnings-driven gains in key Nifty 50 constituents limited the losses.

The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) settled 0.24% lower at 19,624.70, and the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.38% to 65,629.24. Both the benchmarks lost 0.81% each during the session.

Metals (.NIFTYMET) shed 0.88% and was the top sectoral loser. High weightage banks (.NSEBANK) settled 0.31% lower, after losing 0.75% in intraday trade.

A 2.11% rise in private lender IndusInd Bank (INBK.NS) on strong earnings helped the bank index trim losses.

Auto index (.NIFTYAUTO) added 0.50%, supported by a 6.72% jump in Bajaj Auto(BAJA.NS) to a record high, after beating profit estimates in second quarter.

Similarly, Nestle India(NEST.NS) hit a record high on strong quarterly results, driving the consumer index (.NIFTYFMCG) 0.14% higher.

Global stocks fell on fears of Israel-Hamas military clashes engulfing the region, while a jump in U.S. Treasury yields to a 16-year high added to the risk aversion.

\“This unexpected spike in (U.S. Treasury) yields will take its toll on equity markets,\” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Analysts said that elevated U.S. yields could trigger further foreign portfolio investor (FPI) selling in Indian equities. FPIs have been net sellers of Indian shares since the beginning of September.

Wipro (WIPR.NS) fell nearly 3% and was the top Nifty 50 loser after it flagged a further drop in revenue in the ongoing quarter, following a surprise fall in second quarter.

But a rise in other IT stocks like LTIMindtree(LTIM.NS), Persistent Systems (PERS.NS) and Coforge (COFO.NS) on strong earnings helped trim losses in the information technology index (.NIFTYIT).

On the flip side, Ultratech Cement(ULTC.NS) jumped 2.90% after reporting a year-on-year rise in second-quarter net profit.