Indian Shares Open Higher as Swiggy Faces Index Removal and Persistent Systems Approves a $1.25 Billion Raise

Indian equities opened higher on Thursday, a weekly expiry day, with the Sensex up about 155 points at 76,725 and the Nifty 50 up more than 83 points near 23,998, the Economic Times reported. The rally did not hold. By the close, the Sensex had fallen 417.49 points, or 0.55 percent, to 76,152.86, and the Nifty 50 had dropped 41 points, or 0.17 percent, to 23,873.45, Business Standard reported. Traders pointed to renewed caution over oil prices and bond yields, and what those signal for inflation and central bank policy, with tension around the Strait of Hormuz keeping sentiment defensive even as Brent crude eased slightly to about $95 a barrel on the day. The Nifty IT index fell 0.85 percent and the Nifty FMCG index fell 0.62 percent, while smaller stocks held up better, with the BSE MidCap Select index edging up 0.09 percent and the SmallCap Select index gaining 1.02 percent.

Three company stories carried more information than the index move. Swiggy extended its slide into a third straight session, falling as much as 2.5 percent intraday, Business Standard reported, after MSCI said it will remove the stock from its Global Standard Indexes from September 7. The stock has lost roughly 7 percent over the three sessions. The trigger is the company's shift to full Indian ownership and control, which caps further foreign investment. Index membership is not a judgement on the business, but exclusion forces passive funds to sell regardless of the business.

Persistent Systems fell more than 3 percent after its board approved raising up to $1.25 billion in debt and up to $450 million through equity-linked instruments, subject to approvals. The company reported strong bookings and revenue growth in the first quarter while profit fell on currency losses. Power Grid gained about 1.5 percent after winning a transmission project worth 3,244 crore rupees to move power out of Rajasthan, including high-voltage direct current terminals and a long-distance line, according to the Economic Times.

The three together describe where capital is moving in India. Foreign portfolio access is narrowing where ownership rules tighten, a large information technology exporter is choosing to borrow at current rates rather than wait, and the state grid operator keeps winning work because renewable generation in Rajasthan cannot reach customers without a transmission line to carry it. Rising global rates raise the cost of every one of those decisions, and Thursday's reversal, from an opening rally to a lower close, showed how quickly a rate-driven rally can fade once oil and bond markets reassert themselves.