(Bloomberg) -- India stocks struggled for direction on Monday as investors weigh the potential impact of continued nationwide protests, after a week in which the benchmark index closed at a record high four times.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.1% to 41,642.66 at the 3:30 p.m. close in Mumbai. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also dropped 0.1%.
Equity investors have until now largely shrugged off protests against a law that makes religion a criterion for citizenship. But as protests wear on and the death toll climbs, worries are building over the impact they may have at a time when the economy is slowing.
Strategist View
“If political disturbances continue, it would be a downside worry as the protests could start to affect aggregate demand” said Chokkalingam G, head of Equinomics Research & Advisory Pvt.
The Numbers
- Eleven out of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. fell, led by a gauge of energy companies
- Twelve Sensex shares fell while 18 climbed
- Reliance Industries contributed most to the index decline, falling 1.8%, while Nestle India had the largest drop, slipping 2%; HDFC provided the biggest boost to the Sensex, gaining 0.7%, Maruti Suzuki was the biggest winner with a 1.4% jump
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To contact the reporter on this story: Ronojoy Mazumdar in Mumbai at rmazumdar7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, Naoto Hosoda, Paul Jarvis
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