Sensex, Nifty extend losses as private-sector lenders fall
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BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian shares inched lower on Friday and were on course to close the week lower after two weeks of gains, dragged down by private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as investors continued to book profits after recent run-ups.
The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.45% at 15,057.15 by 0348 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex was 0.46% lower at 51,089.95. Both indexes were down for a fourth straight session.
The top three drags on the Nifty 50 were lenders ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra, each shedding about 1%.
Private-sector banks rallied in early February before investors began selling this week. For the month, they are still up 14.8%.
Shares of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd slipped more than 1% after a Reuters report that Ford Motor had frozen all projects it was working on with the Indian car maker.
Meanwhile, India's state-run banks continued their rally, adding 2.3% in early trade, and were on track to finish the week 16.3% higher.
Oil India Ltd gained 4% after the company in consortium with Engineers India decided to bid for acquiring a 61.65% stake in BPCL's Numaligarh Refinery Ltd.
Elsewhere, Asian peers pulled back from record peaks, as rising bond yields and disappointing U.S. jobless data hurt investor confidence about a speedy economic recovery from the pandemic.
