Indian shares closed 0.2 percent lower on Monday as investors locked in some gains, riding on an early rise in a market that had hit a six-week closing high last week, with little direction coming from world markets ahead of the year end. Metal producer Sterlite Industries, top mobile phone operator Bharti Airtel and India's most valuable firm Reliance Industries led the losses.
Shares in billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications closed down 3.6 percent at 136.85 rupees, after elder brother Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries on Friday denied market talk it was planning to invest in India's No 2 mobile operator. Reliance Comm stock had risen 10.5 percent on Friday, helped by the market rumour. The 30-share main BSE index closed down 0.22 percent, or 44.73 points, at 20,028.93, with 19 of its components falling. The index had risen as much as 0.6 percent in early trade. The 50-share NSE index closed 0.2 percent down at 5,998.10 points.
"The problem is there is not much volume in the markets, with the foreign institutional investors segment on a holiday. And when the European markets opened with a downtick, some selling pressure came in our markets as well," said Rajesh Agarwal, head of research at Eastern Financiers. The main index is up about 15 percent so far this year on robust foreign fund inflow into Indian equities that stands at $28.4 billion, set to be the highest yearly inflow.
Sterlite shares fell 3 percent to 179.25 rupees, while Hindalco lost nearly 1 percent, and Tata Steel fell 1.4 percent. Bharti Airtel lost 2 percent to close at 341.60 rupees. Reliance Industries, which accounts for a weightage of nearly 12 percent in the main index, closed 0.4 percent lower at 1,055.10 rupees.
In the broader market, 1,494 gainers were marginally ahead of 1,442 losers on relatively lower volume of 286 million shares. Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals rose 4.2 percent to 144.55 rupees after the Economic Times newspaper reported over the weekend that the firm will make cardiac drug ingredients for a European firm under a $50 million deal. BF Utilities Ltd jumped 7.7 percent to 908.90 rupees after its board approved a proposal for a foreign direct investment of 5 billion rupees.
Patni Computer shares eased 0.5 percent to 486.40 rupees. A consortium of private-equity firms Apax Partners and iGate are close to buying 63 percent of Patni Computer, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday, in a deal valued at about $915 million.