Indian shares end lower as investors book profits in bank, IT stocks

BENGALURU: Indian shares closed lower on Thursday, ending their longest gaining streak in nearly six years, as investors locked in profits in IT companies and bank stocks.

The NSE Nifty 50 index closed down 2.4pc at 11,680.35, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed 2.6pc lower at 39,728.41.

Gains in bank and IT stocks this month helped Indian equities rise for 10 straight sessions, as of Wednesday's close.

The Nifty Bank index, which has gained 7.6pc so far this month, ended 3.4pc lower on Thursday, with lenders HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank closing 3.5pc and 3.4pc lower.

"The worry is that banks had run up too sharply in the past 15 days and we are seeing some amount of profit booking and correction because no one really knows what the actual impact on NPAs (non-performing assets) is from COVID-19," said Umesh Mehta, head of research at Samco Securities, Mumbai.

The declines at banks come a day after the Supreme Court set its hearing on waiving interest on loans under moratorium to Nov. 2, with banks hoping that the apex court will not offer any more reprieve to borrowers beyond the waiver on interest for loans up to 20 million rupees, which the government has agreed to pay.

IT firms were among the top drags on the blue-chip Nifty 50.

The Nifty IT index ended 2.9pc lower, with Mindtree Ltd slipping 8.2pc ahead of its quarterly results.

Shares of Infosys Ltd ended 2.5pc lower, a day after it beat quarterly profit estimates and raised revenue outlook on upbeat demand for its digital services.