Indian shares fall as telecom exposure weighs on banks

BENGALURU: Indian shares ticked lower on Monday, dragged down by banking stocks exposed to telecom operators after the government ordered mobile carriers to immediately pay billions of dollars in dues.

The broader NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.23% at 12,086.15 by 0356 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.17% to 41,186.70.

The banking sector dominated the losses, with the Nifty bank index falling 0.5%. The Nifty PSU bank index dropped 1.4% and Nifty private bank index slid 0.4%.

No.2 telco Bharti Airtel fell as much as 1.5% as the government on Friday after market close ordered mobile carriers to immediately pay 920 billion Indian rupees ($12.88 billion) in overdue levies and interest.