Indian shares drop as SBI, ITC add to profit-booking pressure
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Indian shares reversed course to finish lower on Thursday, as declines in the stocks of State Bank of India Ltd and ITC Ltd added to the pressure of investors booking profits after an upbeat start to the session.
The Nifty 50 closed 0.28% down at 18,129.95, falling for the third session in a row, while the 30-member S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.21% to 61,431.74.
The benchmarks opened higher and gained over 0.6% during the session on optimism that the United States was close to a deal to raise its debt ceiling.
However, that soon faded as traders booked profits, much like the previous two sessions following a gain of nearly 4% since mid-April when the earnings season started. The Nifty 50 hit a five-month high on Monday.
"It's a healthy consolidation in markets," said Ajit Mishra, vice president of technical research at Religare Broking, referring to the slide in the last three sessions.
Ten of the 13 sectoral indexes declined, with public sector banks losing nearly 2%.
State Bank of India Ltd and ITC Ltd both fell about 2%, despite beating fourth-quarter profit estimates. They were were among the top Nifty 50 losers.
For the Nifty, 18,050 is a crucial support, a breach of which could trigger a further slide, while it could face selling pressure at a resistance level of 18,450, said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.
The weekly derivatives expiry also added to the volatility in markets on Thursday, said Ameya Ranadive, equity research analyst at Choice Broking. ($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)
