Indian shares mark 2-1/2 week closing low; anxiety around RBI, Fed
16/12/2013 11:14
* BSE index falls 0.27 pct; NSE ends 0.22 pct lower * India's wholesale price inflation hits 14-month high * GlaxoSmithKline Pharma surges on open offer by parent * Overseas investors snap 10-day buying streak in Indian shares By Abhishek Vishnoi MUMBAI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell for a fifth straight session on Monday as investors pared positions in blue-chip stocks such as Reliance Industries ahead of the Reserve Bank of India and the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meetings later this week. India's wholesale price inflation hit a 14-month high in November, as food price surged, cementing expectations the central bank will raise interest rates for a third consecutive time at its policy review on Wednesday. ID:nL3N0JV0X7 Traders say a rate hike, although factored in to an extent, could undermine the confidence of investors and Indian companies as the economy remains in a fragile state with growth languishing below 5 percent. Foreign institutional investors sold Indian shares worth 4.32 billion rupees ($69.49 million) on Friday, to snap their 10-day buying streak, raising concerns ahead of the Fed's meeting ending on Wednesday. ID:nL3N0JV0PZ The Fed is widely expected to start withdrawing its monetary stimulus by early next year. "Fears about the prospects of a hawkish stance by the RBI governor have increased in the background of recent gloomy CPI and WPI data," said Gaurang Shah, assistant vice president at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd. Anything above 25 bps rate hike could spook the markets in the near term, Shah added. The benchmark BSE index .BSESN fell 0.27 percent, or 56.06 points, to 20,659.52, marking its lowest close since Nov. 28. The index is now 4 percent away from a record high of 21,483.74 hit a week earlier. The broader NSE index .NSEI ended lower 0.22 percent, or 13.70 points, at 6,154.70, marking its biggest losing streak since the seven days ending Nov. 13. Among blue-chip shares, Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS fell 2.3 percent, while Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd SUN.NS ended lower 2.6 percent. Among rate-sensitive stocks, mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd HDFC.NS fell 1 percent, while Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd MAHM.NS ended 2.5 percent lower. Tata Chemicals Ltd TTCH.NS fell 1.2 percent after the RBI placed a cap on further foreign institutional investments in the company. ID:nL3N0JV1LV Clariant Chemicals India Ltd CLAC.NS fell 2.1 percent after the company said it intends to acquire Plastichemix Industries for 1.35 billion rupees. ID:nWNBS0092D Steel shares fell after a measure of growth in China's vast factory sector slowed to a three-month low in December as reduced output offset a pick-up in new orders. ID:nB9N0JK00K Tata Steel Ltd TISC.NS fell 1.5 percent, while Jindal Steel and Power Ltd JNSP.NS ended 3.2 percent lower. However, among stocks that gained, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd GLAX.NS surged 18.9 percent after parent GlaxoSmithKline Plc GSK.L said it plans to spend over $1 billion to buy up to 20.6 million shares to raise its stake in its Indian unit. ID:nL3N0JV0O7 For additional stocks on the move double click MEYE FACTORS TO WATCH * Euro zone activity data helps euro, but Fed holds FRX/ * Oil above $109 as Libyan oil ports stay shut O/R * Europe lifted by PMI data, China wobble hits Asia MKTS/GLOB * Foreign institutional investor flows INFII INFII01 * For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia........ STXNEWS/AS Japan....... .T S.Korea... .KS S.E. Asia....... .SO Hong Kong... .HK Taiwan.... .TWX Australia/NZ.... .AX India....... .BO China..... .SS OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street .... .N Gold ....... GOL/ Currency.. FRX/ Eurostocks..... .EU Oil ........ O/R JP bonds... JP/ ADR Report ..... ADR/ LME metals. MET/L US bonds.. US/ Stocks News US.. STXNEWS/US Stocks News Europe STXNEWS/EU DIARIES & DATA: Indian Data Watch ID:nINDATA Asia earnings diary ASIA/EQTY U.S. earnings diary RESF/US European diary WEU/QTY Indian diary IN/DIARY Wall Street Week Ahead .N/O Eurostocks Week Ahead .EU/O TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nTOPEQA U.S. company news TOP/EQU European company news TOP/EQE Forex news TOP/FRX Global Economy news TOP/MACRO Technology news TOP/TECH Telecoms news TOP/TELCO Media news TOP/MEDIA Banking news TOP/FIN Politics/General TOP/G Asia Macro dataRecent news on Sudarshan Colorants India
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