BENGALURU: Indian shares settled lower after a see-saw session on Thursday as some investors booked profits on gains following stronger-than-expected domestic growth data, and on receding bets of a U.S. rate hike.
The blue-chip Nifty 50 index closed 0.25% lower at 18,487.75, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex finished 0.31% down at 62,428.54.
Both indexes held near five-month highs after swinging between gains of 0.2% and losses of 0.4% in the session.
“The tone in domestic equities is positive. It’s just that the market may face some resistance as we are hovering near highs. So it is normal that we see some profit-booking at those levels,” said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President - research at Religare Broking.
Government data on Wednesday showed India’s economic growth accelerated to 6.1% in the January-March quarter, outpacing economists’ forecast of 5% growth in a Reuters poll.
The more domestically oriented Nifty madcap and smallcap closed 0.15% and 1.02% higher, respectively. The indexes have rallied for more than a week.
Indian shares open higher on strong domestic GDP data
J.P.Morgan on Thursday raised its forecast for India’s annual growth by 50 basis points to 5.5% for fiscal 2024, but warned that a global slowdown could drag the economy.
Meanwhile, shares globally rose on Thursday on receding bets for a U.S. rate hike this month and relief over the passage of a bill to suspend the federal debt ceiling.
The continued inflow of foreign funds into domestic equities also improved sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought 34.06 billion rupees worth of Indian equities on Wednesday. They have been net buyers in Indian stocks in 24 of the last 25 sessions.
State-owned miner Coal India Ltd closed 4.5% lower after the Indian government proposed to sell up to a 3% stake in the company.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd ended 4.1% higher after several brokerages said the hospital chain was well-placed for growth in the long term
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