Indian Shares End Lower As IT Stocks Drag On Global AI Chip Rally

(RTTNews) - Indian shares closed lower on Wednesday as information technology stocks slumped amid renewed optimism surrounding artificial intelligence in global markets.

AI-related stocks boosted benchmarks elsewhere in Tokyo and Seoul after global AI memory leader SK Hynix reported a more than sevenfold surge in quarterly operating profit to a record high and unveiled plans to return 100 trillion won ($75 billion) to shareholders.

Additionally, Meta Platforms Inc.'s upsized $25 billion share sale ended five times oversubscribed, Broadcom announced a $63 billion AI hardware deal, and Oracle expanded its OpenAI and Nvidia partnerships, helping spark a global rally in artificial intelligence-related stocks.

Rising crude oil prices and caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision later in the day also deepened the broader risk-off mood in markets.

Oil prices moved back toward four-year highs after U.S. President Donald Trump stated that further U.S. strikes against Iran after the midterm elections remain a possibility.

Media reports suggested that the U.S has alerted several Persian Gulf nations to a possible short, intense campaign against Iran after the midterm elections.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, a Patriot system is heading to Israel, munitions are being restocked, and extra warships are poised to arrive next month.

It was said that Trump is leaning toward a large attack on Iranian infrastructure and nuclear sites but remains undecided.

An attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia also underscored heightened supply risks in the region.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended the session down 352.64 points, or 0.48 percent, at 73,246.03 while the NSE Nifty index dropped 50.90 points, or 0.22 percent, to 22,698.85.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes rose half a percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was strong on the BSE, with 2,246 shares rising while 2,078 shares fell and 231 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent decliners, ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies, BEL, Eternal, Bajaj FinServ, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Reliance Industries fell 1-3 percent.

Among the top gainers, Larsen Toubro surged 3.7 percent, Trent added 2.8 percent, SBI rose 1.2 percent and Axis Bank gained 1.1 percent.