(Bloomberg) -- India's benchmark stock gauge fell, paring weekly gains, as investors reduced risk ahead of the weekend amid an extended domestic lockdown.
The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 1.7% to close at 31,327.22 in Mumbai, snapping a two-week rally, and the NSE Nifty 50 Index declined by the same magnitude.
Finance and real estate shares led declines. Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd. plunged as much as 19% while HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd. slid 8.8% after Franklin Templeton said it will wind up $4.1 billion of Indian debt funds.
The Sensex has climbed more than 6% so far in April, on track for its first monthly gain this year as the nation partially lifts the lockdown stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Foreign fund outflows have slowed in April, with redemptions totaling $456 million so far compared with withdrawals of $8.4 billion in March, the most on record.
“On the upside, there would be profit booking and bargain hunting,” said Sanjiv Bhasin, a strategist and director at IIFL Securities Ltd. in Mumbai. “There are an equal number of people who are negative on the market so short covering is also part of it.”
With the quarterly earnings season underway, IndusInd Bank Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. are scheduled to announce results next week. Five Nifty 50 companies have so far reported results, with few providing outlooks due to the uncertain trajectory of the coronavirus and extended shutdown.
The yield on India's benchmark 10-year government bond rose 12 basis points to 6.17%, while the rupee weakened 0.5% to 76.4525 per U.S. dollar.
The Numbers
- Sixteen of the 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. slid, led by a gauge of property shares.
- Bajaj Finance Ltd. dropped the most among Sensex companies, losing 9.1%, while Housing Development Finance Corp. was the biggest drag on the index, falling 5%.
- Reliance Industries Ltd. led gains with a 3.3% advance and gave the benchmark its biggest boost.
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