Indian shares opened lower on Friday, as IT bellwether Infosys slid after a disappointing forecast and automakers deepened their losses, while continuing foreign fund outflows further weighed on sentiment.
The Nifty 50 index dropped 0.4% to 24,655 points as of 9:35 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex edged down 0.5% to 80,623.
The benchmarks have suffered losses over the past three sessions as foreign investors pulled out money from Indian equities to focus on China.
Foreign institutional investors have pulled out $8.4 billion so far in October, already set for the highest monthly outflows since at least 2002.
Indian shares slip for third straight day as Bajaj Auto’s forecast adds to blues
Assets under custody of foreign portfolio investors had crossed $1 trillion as of September-end.
Twelve out of thirteen subsectors declined in early trade, with IT stocks leading the losses with a 1% drop. Infosys raised its full-year revenue growth forecast to 3.75%-4.5%, but fell short of Street expectations of 4%-5%.
Gold lender Manappuram Finance tanked 15% after its unit Asirvad Micro Finance was barred by the Indian central bank from disbursing fresh loans, citing a breach of norms.
Bajaj Auto’s losses, sparked by a warning that festive sales may fall below expectations, spilled into a second day with a 2% fall.
The fourth heaviest stock on the Nifty Auto index dragged the gauge lower by 0.2%. On the flip side, Axis Bank gained 3% after its September-quarter profit topped expectations, while IT firm Wipro added 4.7% after a revenue beat and bonus share issue, helping to limit some losses on the Nifty 50.
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