Nifty below 5700; ITC up 2%, Exide down 8% post results

Indian equity benchmarks slipped 0.8 percent today due to profit booking in banking & financials, infrastructure, metals, auto and oil & gas exploration stocks. The Indian rupee extended losses, falling 42 paise to 53.83 against the US dollar.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 150.60 points to 18,641.32 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 48 points to 5,670.65.

Shares of ITC, a cigarette major, hit a record high of Rs 298.80 after stronger-than-expected results in the quarter ended September 2012. The stock gained more than 2 percent as its net profit rose 21% year-on-year to Rs 1,836 crore , helped especially by strong growth in its other fast moving consumer goods and agri business, sending its shares up to a new 52-week high. Analysts on average were expecting ITC to report a net profit of Rs 1,758 crore.

Exide Industries, a lead acid storage battery manufacturer, reported lower than expected net profit growth of 135.7% year-on-year to Rs 120.2 crore in the quarter ended September 2012. Analysts had expected it at Rs 152 crore. The stock fell 8 percent amid large volumes.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India tanked 1.5 percent while its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined 1 percent each.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL were down over 1.5 percent. Housing finance company HDFC was down 1.4 percent.

Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and top software services exporter TCS fell nearly 1 percent. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever lost 1.7 percent.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by a ratio of 871 to 542 on the National Stock Exchange.