By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s benchmark indexes edged lower on Monday as profit-taking in financials near record highs outweighed optimism from easing geopolitical tensions and fresh foreign inflows.
The Nifty 50 shed 0.19% to 25,590.45 points and the BSE Sensex fell 0.22% to 83,876.90 as of 10:14 a.m. IST.
Seven of the 13 major sectors logged losses. High-weight financials, which hit a record high on Friday, lost 0.4%.
The heaviest stock in the benchmark indexes HDFC Bank lost about 0.8%.
Meanwhile, small- and mid-cap indexes outperformed, rising 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.
Both the benchmarks are trading just about 2.5% below record high levels. They have gained about 3.5% in June, to take their overall rise to about 15% since the start of March.
“Many promoters, private equity funds and early foreign investors are likely booking profits as markets approach the record high levels and valuations get stretched, spurring a pause in the rally,” said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research.
Other Asian markets were also subdued, while the dollar softened on bets that weaker U.S. jobs data could prompt deeper rate cuts. [MKTS/GLOB]
Among individual stocks, Karnataka Bank tumbled 7% after the chief executive officer Srikrishnan Hari Hara Sarma resigned citing personal reasons. Executive Director Sekhar Rao also stepped down.
Torrent Pharma rose about 4% before paring most of the gains. The drug maker signed definitive agreements to buy a controlling 46.4% stake in JB Chemicals
On the flipside, Alembic Pharma jumped 9.5% after getting U.S. drug regulator’s nod for an injection used to treat certain types of cancer including ovarian cancer.
ITD Cementation gained 4.1% after securing a $67.4 million international marine contract.
($1 = 85.4510 Indian rupees)
