Indian shares fall over 1%, bank stocks weigh
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Indian shares ended lower on Friday, with the benchmark Nifty 50 index snapping an eight-session winning streak, as investors locked in profits after the sharp rally.
The NSE Nifty 50 index closed down 1.1% at 17,758.45, recording its biggest percentage fall in nearly two months.
The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 1.08% to 59,646.15 in its first fall in six sessions. The decline marked the index's biggest percentage loss since June 22.
Still, both indexes notched up their fifth week of gains, with the Nifty 50 adding 0.34% and the Sensex 0.3% for the week.
Bank stocks led the fall, with the Nifty PSU bank index closing down 2.7%. Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda were the top losers on the index.
IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv were the top losers on the Nifty 50 index, down 3.8% and 3%, respectively.
Auto and consumer stocks, the major drivers of the recent rally, also declined on Friday. Tata Motors ended 2.9% lower, while Hindustan Unilever fell 1.8%.
The Nifty Auto index closed down 1.4%, having risen 4.7% so far this month.
Shares of oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd fell 1.8% following an overnight announcement on government raising tax on fuel exports after cutting them a little over two weeks ago, and slashing a windfall tax on locally produced crude oil.
Bucking the trend, IT stocks gained, with the Nifty IT index ending up 0.06% after having risen as much as 1.5% earlier in the session.
