By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s benchmark indexes edged lower on Monday, snapping a four-session rally, as profit-taking in financials near record highs overpowered optimism from easing geopolitical tensions.
The Nifty 50 shed 0.47% to 25,517.05 and the BSE Sensex fell 0.54% to 83,606.46.
Both indexes had gained 2.7% over the prior four sessions and added 3.1% and 2.7% in June, marking their fourth consecutive monthly advance.
The Nifty and Sensex are now just about 2.9% and 2.8% below their all-time high levels hit in September.
Indian markets have held firm despite global headwinds, but elevated valuations near record highs are triggering selective profit-taking, said Gaurav Garg, analyst at Lemonn Markets Desk.
On the day, eight of the 13 major sectors logged losses.
High-weight financials, which hit a record high on Friday, lost 0.6%.
The heaviest stock in the benchmark indexes HDFC Bank lost about 0.7%.
Meanwhile, small- and mid-cap indexes outperformed, rising 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively.
Other Asian markets also fell, while the dollar softened on bets that weaker U.S. jobs data could prompt deeper rate cuts. [MKTS/GLOB]
Among individual stocks, Sigachi Industries slumped 11.5% after an explosion at its Hyderabad unit led to a fire and killed at least eight people and injured over 26, according to police.
Torrent Pharma rose 2% after announcing plans to acquire a 46.4% stake in JB Chemicals from private equity firm KKR.
JB Chemicals dropped 6.8% following the deal, which was priced at a discount to its last close.
Alembic Pharma jumped 7.3% after getting U.S. drug regulator’s nod for an injection used to treat certain types of cancer including ovarian cancer.
RBL Bank climbed 3.8% after Citi projected a 15.4% upside over the next 90 days, citing expectations of a rebound in June-quarter earnings.
State Bank of India gained about 2%, leading public sector banks 2.7% higher after JPMorgan hiked its price target.
($1 = 85.4510 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Rashmi Aich and Vijay Kishore)
