By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -Indian shares slipped on Friday, eyeing fourth straight week of losses, dragged down by a drop in private lender IndusInd Bank and power company NTPC on disappointing quarterly results.
The NSE Nifty 50 was 0.5% lower at 24,275.5 points as of 9:56 a.m. IST, while BSE Sensex inched down 0.38% to 79,759.04.
The Nifty 50 and the Sensex have dropped about 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively, so far this week and are on course for their fourth straight week of declines – longest such losing streak since August 2023.
Both the benchmarks are down about 7% from record highs hit on Sept. 27 and are on track for their worst monthly performance since March 2020.
“Markets are seeing a sustained drop due to persistent foreign outflows and dull earnings so far,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research of wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Foreign investors have been offloading Indian shares over the last 19 sessions, redirecting funds to China on Beijing’s stimulus measures and relatively cheaper valuations.
Shares of Nifty 50 constituent IndusInd Bank plunged 15% after the lender reported a surprise drop in its September-quarter profit due to stress in microfinance loans, which led to higher provisions and lower asset quality.
NTPC lost 2.5% after posting a profit drop in the second quarter on lower power generation.
Ten of the 13 major sectors declined at the open. The broader, more domestically focussed small- and mid-caps shed 1.2% each.
Consumer major ITC climbed 4% and was the top Nifty 50 gainer. While the company missed second-quarter profit estimates on rising costs of raw materials and subdued demand, analysts termed the strong sales and volume growth in a tough environment as encouraging signs for future earnings.
Private lender Axis Bank rose 2% after the Reserve Bank of India approved the reappointment of managing director and chief executive Amitabh Chaudhry.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Sumana Nandy)
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