Indian shares lower on soaring oil prices

Shares are expected to fall for a second straight day on Wednesday, with sentiment weighed down by record high oil prices, brokers said. US light crude oil futures hit a record high on Wednesday at $44.25 a barrel after the OPEC producers’ cartel said there was little the group  could do to cool the red hot market for the time being.

The economy is sensitive to oil prices as it imports about 70 per cent of its crude needs. But brokers said local factors such as better rains, strong cement shipments in July and higher steel prices are likely to generate demand for old economy stocks over the medium term. "There is good demand
for cement and steel stocks due to strong shipments for the past month and firmer prices," brokers  said.