Indian shares fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, led by market bellwether Reliance Industries, as a poor election result for the country's ruling Congress party appeared to pour cold water on an already-struggling reform agenda. The benchmark 30-share BSE index closed down 0.16 percent at 17,145.52, with all but 13 of its components in the negative territory.
The index, which fell a combined 2.63 percent on Monday and Tuesday to hit its lowest close in more than five weeks, has slipped 7.0 percent since February 21, when it hit its highest close in nearly seven months. Oil and gas conglomerate Reliance, India's most valuable company by market capitalisation, closed down 1.9 percent at 761.80 rupees ($15).
Hindustan Petroleum Corp ended 4.2 lower at 298.60 rupees, while Bharat Petroleum Corp closed at 659.35 rupees, down 1.4 percent. Indian Oil Corp fell 2.6 percent to end at 272.90 rupees. Pantaloon Retail dropped 3.3 percent to close at 155.25 rupees, while Shopper's Stop shed 3.7 percent to end at 324.85 rupees. The Tata Group's retail unit Trent closed at 903.30 rupees, a fall of 0.6 percent.
Maruti Suzuki, India's top carmaker, ended the day down 1.7 percent at 1,308.55 rupees. Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra shed 0.9 percent to close at 674.90 rupees. The 50-share NSE index closed down 0.04 percent at 5,200.45. In the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers by a ratio of around 2:1, on a volume of about 769 million shares.
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