By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s stock benchmarks fell for a third straight session on Tuesday as investors continued to book profits near record highs on a day that saw the monthly derivatives expiry.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.29% to 25,884.8 points, while the BSE Sensex was down 0.37% to 84,587.01, taking both to about 1.6% off record highs touched in September 24.
“Earlier attempts by Nifty to surpass the September 2024 peak had stalled due to the absence of a U.S.-India trade deal and now profit-taking has set in, also driven by persistent foreign selling,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research of wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The Nifty’s derivatives contract rollover in November is well below the three-month average, reflecting subdued sentiment as traders stay cautious instead of going ahead with large positions, analysts at Axis Direct said.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors logged declines. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
Among individual stocks, oil marketing companies BPCL, HPCL and Indian Oil fell 0.9%-1.7% each after Investec downgraded the shares to “sell” from “hold”, citing pressure on diesel marketing margins.
Glenmark Pharma gained 2.1% after launching nebulized triple therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Bucking the broader trend, domestic rate-sensitive realty companies gained 1.6% and state-owned lenders added 1.4% after the Reserve Bank of India’s governor Sanjay Malhotra said there is scope for further rate cuts ahead of a policy meeting next week.
The central bank governor’s comments also triggered a rally in Indian government bonds, while the Indian rupee closed nearly flat after strengthening on Monday from an all-time low hit on Friday.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar, Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
