Indian shares fell to a three-week low on Thursday as investors took gains off the table, continuing to book profits in recent outperformers as the upcoming quarterly reporting season is expected to be weak. The benchmark BSE index shed 0.86 percent to close at 24,685.42, its lowest since March 17. The broader NSE index fell 0.89 percent to 7,546.45. The index fell as much as 1 percent earlier in the session to its lowest level since March 18.
Indian share markets will remain open for trading on Friday, although currency and debt trading will be shut for a market holiday. After surging 10.8 percent in March, the NSE index is down 2.1 percent so far this month, after the Reserve Bank of India cut interest rates by 25 basis points as widely expected, and not the 50 bps cut some investors had hoped for.
Markets are now focused on January-March earnings reports amid worries companies continued to suffer due to lacklustre economic growth and weak global demand. Next week, cement makers ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cements Ltd, and software services provider Infosys are due to report their earnings results. Lenders, which had surged 16 percent in March, were down. Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 1 percent, while ICICI Bank dropped 0.3 percent. Shares of Tata Power and Adani Power slumped 3 percent each after CNBC TV 18 reported the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity on Thursday struck down a 2014 order by the power regulator CERC that had granted compensatory tariff to the two companies. Auto maker Maruti Suzuki fell 2.8 percent.
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