Indian shares hit by profit-taking ahead of earnings, inflation data
* BSE index falls 0.38 pct; NSE ends 0.3 pct lower
* Indian banks slip on central bank panel report
* Breather likely for record-setting Indian shares
* Software (Xetra: 330400 - news) stocks gain ahead of Infosys (NYSE: INFY - news) results
By Abhishek Vishnoi
MUMBAI, April 11 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Friday,
retreating from record highs hit in the previous session as blue
chips such as Reliance Industries declined ahead of
quarterly earnings and inflation data due next week.
Sentiment was also hit by a slide in global shares as steep
falls in U.S. technology and biotechnology stocks spread to
other sectors and regions.
After a week in which both the BSE and NSE indexes
hit record highs, investors are bracing for consumer
inflation data due on Tuesday, the same day that Infosys
is due to post quarterly earnings.
The events will provide a snapshot on the Indian economy,
which many analysts say continues to struggle. Data on Friday
showed the trade deficit widening to $10.51 billion
in March from $8.13 billion in February on lower exports.
"The firm trend in the Sensex continued. The broad theme
remained the same with domestic cyclicals outperforming the IT
and FMCG sectors," said Dipen Shah, head of private client group
research at Kotak Securities.
The benchmark BSE index fell 0.38 percent, or 86.37
points, to end at 22,628.96. The index rose 1.2 percent for the
week, marking its third consecutive weekly gain.
The broader NSE index lost 0.3 percent, or 20.10
points, to end at 6,776.30, but gained 1.22 percent for the
week.
Indian equity, forex and debt markets will be closed on
Monday for a local holiday.
Among blue-chips, Reliance Industries fell 1.6 percent,
while Larsen & Toubro ended 1.2 percent lower.
Bank shares fell 0.8 percent after a central bank
panel recommended a slew of measures, including potentially
changing how lending rates are set for the sector, raising
worries about overall profitability.
ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN - news) fell 0.9 percent, while Axis Bank (BSE: AXISBANKSL.BO - news)
ended 0.5 percent lower.
Indusind Bank slid 4.3 percent on caution ahead of
its March-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
State Bank of India (BSE: SBI.BO - news) lost 1.7 percent and Bank of
Baroda fell 1.2 percent.
Tata Motors fell 1.7 percent after making an
all-time high of 437.80 rupees after its unit Jaguar Land
Rover's retail volumes for March came marginally
below some analysts' estimates at 55,183 units.
Adani Enterprises Ltd slumped 6.8 percent as
investors chose to book profits after the stock rose 22.9
percent on Thursday, marking its biggest single day percentage
gain ever.
However among stocks that gained, Piramal Enterprises Ltd
rose 6.2 percent, adding to Thursday's 2.9 percent
gain after Britain's Vodafone said on Friday it had
taken full ownership of Vodafone India by buying the 11 percent
it did not already own from the company.
Infosys gained 1.1 percent ahead of its March-quarter
earnings on Tuesday, while Tata Consultancy Services
rose 1.8 percent.
Also, Infosys said on Friday the company had started a
search for chief executive S.D. Shibulal's successor and
appointed Egon Zehnder to assist the nominations committee in
identifying external candidates.
For additional stocks on the move double click
FACTORS TO WATCH
* Yen ends strong week with dip, euro grinds higher
* Brent drops towards $107 as supply outlook improves
* World equities hit two-week low
* Foreign institutional investor flows
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs
ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS:
Pan-Asia........ Japan....... S.Korea...
S.E. Asia.......
Hong Kong... Taiwan....
Australia/NZ....
India....... China.....
OTHER MARKETS:
Wall Street ....
Gold ....... Currency..
Eurostocks.....
Oil ........ JP bonds...
ADR Report .....
LME metals. US bonds..
Stocks News US.. Stocks News Europe
DIARIES & DATA:
Indian Data Watch Asia earnings diary
U.S. earnings diary European diary
Indian diary Wall Street Week Ahead
Eurostocks Week Ahead
TOP NEWS:
For top Asian company news, double click on:
U.S. company news European company news
Forex news Global Economy news
Technology news Telecoms news
Media news Banking news
Politics/General Asia Macro data
(Editing by Anand Basu)
