Indian Stocks Fall as Brent Crude Tops $114 on Mideast Supply Fears

Indian equities opened the week lower as Brent crude traded above $114 a barrel, with the Sensex down 0.46% and the Nifty 50 falling 0.5%. Twelve of India's 16 sectors booked losses, led by IT stocks, which shed 1.1%, Reuters reported. "Concerns over supply disruptions due to escalating Mideast tensions pushed crude oil prices higher," said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomic Research. He said domestic equities are likely to remain highly volatile with a short-term downward bias, warning that sustained higher energy costs could reignite global inflation and restrain growth. India's imports of Middle Eastern crude rose to 2.8 million barrels per day in September, lifting the region's share of total imports to 54% from 32% in August, as refiners bought more spot cargoes. Russia remained India's largest single supplier, but its volumes fell 14% from August to 1.8 million bpd, cutting its share to 33.5% from 46.6%.