Indian shares fell on Monday, dragged down by financials, as a recent runup in valuations prompted investors to lock in gains.
The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.98% at 17,581.15 as of 0505 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 0.96% to 59,072.73.
”Market has rallied significantly. Some profit-booking is definitely required and FII (foreign institutional investor) investment has been high. If that slows down, the possibility of market correcting will be higher,” said Deven Choksey, founder and managing director of KR Choksey Group, adding that profit booking began from Friday.
The Nifty 50 index has risen 4.6% this month until Thursday, while the BSE Sensex gained 4.7%.
Foreign institutional investors poured $5.6 billion into Indian equities this month through Friday, compared with inflows of $618 million in July.
Choksey expects the lull in markets to last for a few weeks, before the pace starts picking up.
The Nifty Bank index was down 1.6%, with Kotak Mahindra Bank leading the decline with a 2.7% fall.The bank index has risen 5.8% so far this month until Thursday.
Meanwhile, auto stocks fell, with Ashok Leyland and Hero MotoCorp down 2% each.
India’s Nifty IT index pared losses after falling as much as 1.5% in the session.
Shares of fintech firm Paytm’s parent One97 Communications rose 3.1% after the company’s shareholders voted to reappoint Vijay Shekhar Sharma as managing director and chief executive officer, despite calls for his ouster by an investor advisory firm.
Adani Power Ltd gained 3.4% after the company said on Friday it will buy thermal power plant operator DB Power.
Asian shares slipped and the dollar extended its climb amid angst over global growth as most major banks keep raising rates, while a modest easing by China served only to highlight troubles in its property market.
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