Indian shares drop 1.8pc, Reliance leads fall

MUMBAI: Indian shares dropped 1.8 percent early on Friday as worries over slowing domestic growth hurt investor sentiment ahead of weaker economic data expected next week, while resolution to Europe's debt crisis remains distant.

Energy major Reliance Industries fell more than 2 percent to lead the losses.

India's industrial output likely shrank 0.5 percent in October from the same month a year ago, its first decline in over two years, hurt by a slowdown in export growth, a Reuters poll showed.

The data is due on Monday.

At 9:18 a.m. (0348 GMT), the 30-share BSE index was down 1.8 percent at 16,200.01, with all its components falling.