Oct 15 Reuters Indian shares closed lower on Tuesday, with auto shares leading losses due to expectations of delayed domestic rate cuts while metals declined tracking a fall in global prices.

The Nifty 50 index fell 0.28 to 25,057.35 points as of 330 p.m. IST, while the SP BSE Sensex dropped 0.2 to 81,820.12.

The prospect that a domestic rate cut may be delayed to early 2025 from December, following a spike in retail inflation for September, has dulled overall market sentiment, two analysts said.

Eight of the 13 subsectors closed lower. Stocks of automakers, who are heavily dependent on customers taking on bank loans, fell 0.8.

Metals lost 1.4, tracking a fall in global prices, as uncertainty about top consumer China39;s economic recovery weighed following a detailthin stimulus announcement over the weekend.

Reliance Industries  the secondheaviest stock on the Nifty 50 fell 2 after reporting a drop in secondquarter profit on Monday after the markets closed.

HDFC Life Insurance Company closed 3.6 lower after reporting a lower value for new business VNB margin for the half year ended Sept. 30. The stock was the top percentage loser on the benchmark Nifty 50.

Inflation worries overshadowed gains in oil marketing companies and paint makers, triggered by a slide in global oil prices after a media report said Israel is willing not to strike Iranian oil targets, easing fears of supply disruption.

Lower oil prices bear well for India, the world39;s thirdlargest importer….