INDIA STOCKS-IT, banks drag Indian shares down amid global market turmoil

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

March 11 (Reuters) - Indian equities fell on Tuesday, led by information technology and private banks, tracking a broad sell-off across Asian markets after Wall Street tumbled overnight on fears that the U.S. economy could be careening into a recession.

The decline followed U.S. President Donald Trump's refusal on Sunday to predict whether the U.S. could face a recession amid worries over his tariff policies and heightening investor concerns about global economic stability.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI fell 0.3% to 22,394.15 as of 9:53 a.m. IST while the Sensex .BSESN lost 0.36% to 73,840.03.

Asian markets slid on the day, with Japan's Nikkei 225 .N225 losing 2% and MSCI Asia ex-Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS falling 1.1%.

U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight as relentless tariff wrangling and mounting anxieties from a possible federal government shutdown stoked recession fears. MKTS/GLOB

Seven of the 13 major sectors declined while the broader, more domestically focussed small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 lost 1.5% and 0.5%, respectively.

IT companies .NIFTYIT, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., fell 1.5%, with all 10 constituents logging losses.

Infosys INFY.NS and Wipro WIPR.NS lost 3% and 2.4%, respectively, to be among the top five Nifty 50 losers.

Banks .NSEBANK fell 0.8%. Private banks .NIFPVTBNK lost 1.3%, dragged by a 20% drop in IndusInd Bank INBK.NS after the lender flagged a decline in its net worth due to discrepancies in its derivative accounts.

During growth uncertainties, equities pivot only when rate cuts are deep and valuations are cheap; markets could take a while before they bottom out, said Prateek Parekh and Jatin Somani of Nuvama Institutional Equities.

Bucking the trend, oil marketing companies Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS, Hindustan Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and Indian Oil IOC.NS rose about 1.5% each.

HSBC reiterated "buy" on the three companies, seeing valuation comfort and benefits from low oil prices and auto fuel demand.

($1 = 87.3760 Indian rupees)