Indian shares fell 0.42 percent on Monday, weighed down by index heavyweights as investors took profits with stock prices at near-16-month highs, dealers said. The benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 70.31 points to 16,740.5. Energy giant Reliance Industries fell 31.85 rupees, or 1.56 percent, to 2,105.45 after its partner, Britain's Hardy Oil and Gas, Friday said it was abandoning work at an exploratory oil well in the Krishna Godavari basin, in east India.
Reliance fell four percent on Friday. Fund managers will eye India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India's moves on Tuesday, when it decides on monetary policy.
Economists expect interest rates to be kept unchanged, but some said the cash reserve ratio - or CRR - the amount which commercial banks have to keep aside as deposit, may be hiked. "The markets appear tired. We could correct it bit more but expect the markets to settle near a base level of 16,000-16,500 points," said C. Jayaram, executive director with Kotak Mahindra Bank. Losers led gainers 1,743 to 994 on turnover of 46.78 billion rupees (one billion dollars).
Maruti Suzuki India, ended flat at 1,517.4, up 0.05 rupees, off the day's high of 1,545, after the company Saturday said its quarterly net profit had soared 93 percent year-on-year. Tata Motors rose 9.95 rupees, or 1.88 percent, to 539.35, ahead of its second-quarter earnings later Monday.
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