Indian Stocks Fall a Fourth Day on Oil, but Bank and Consumer Earnings Hold Up

India's equity market fell for a fourth straight session as the surge in oil, which the country imports in bulk, pressured sentiment. The Economic Times reported that the Sensex dropped more than 300 points and the Nifty slipped below 23,950 as escalating US-Iran tensions pushed crude higher, in its market wrap. For an economy that buys most of its oil abroad, a sustained rise in crude widens the import bill and pressures the rupee.

Corporate earnings were more mixed. IndusInd Bank shares fell about 5 percent even after reporting a 72 percent year-on-year jump in first-quarter profit to 1,037 crore rupees, as investors focused on flat net interest income, the Economic Times reported. Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell about 9 percent after a weak quarter in which net profit dropped 69 percent, hurt by a charge tied to a key drug ingredient, the paper reported.

The underlying picture is an economy driven by domestic demand rather than exports, which has repeatedly shielded Indian assets from external shocks even as the oil bill rises.