(Updates at 10:15 a.m. IST)
BENGALURU, March 15 (Reuters) - India's blue-chip indexes fell on Friday, dragged by information technology stocks on concerns about delays in U.S. rate cuts, while small- and mid-cap stocks declined as stress test results of mutual funds trickled in.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index lost 0.63% to 22,004.71, while the BSE Sensex shed 0.57% to 72,677.84, as of 10:15 a.m. IST.
The benchmarks have each lost about 2% this week, and are set for their worst week since the end of October.
IT stocks declined 1.1% following a hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation reading, which fuelled worries over the Federal Reserve's future rate trajectory.
IT companies earn a major share of their revenue from the U.S.
"The U.S. inflation data has clearly sparked concerns of delay in the onset of Fed rate cut, weighing on sentiment across global stocks," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.
Oil marketing companies such as Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation dropped between 3% and 6% after announcing
reductions
in petrol and diesel prices.
The cut would hurt near-term sentiment on the stocks, analysts at Citi Research said, adding that any meaningful pullback could be a buying opportunity.
The broader, more domestically-focussed small- and mid-caps lost 0.6% and 1%, respectively as
stress test results
of mutual funds in the segments trickled in.
Including the day's losses, they have declined about 6.3% and 5% for the week, and are set for their worst performance in 15 months, following concerns raised by the markets regulator on
froth
in the segments on Monday.
Small- and mid-caps are expected to face more pressure, as valuations remain lofty in some pockets, Dewan added.
Paytm
advanced
5% after the country's payments authority granted the company a third-party application provider license.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
