Indian shares ended lower on Wednesday to post their first drop in four sessions, as investors booked profit in recent outperformers such as HDFC Bank Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd after the central bank cut rates on Tuesday. The broader NSE index ended 0.29 percent lower at 8,743.95, while the benchmark BSE index closed 0.40 percent lower at 28,220.98. The Nifty Bank Index closed 0.69 percent lower, after gaining 2.55 percent in the last three sessions.
India's newly minted monetary policy committee delivered a surprise 25-basis-point cut in the repo rate on Tuesday to 6.25 percent, the lowest since November 2010. Asian markets also took a hit, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan falling 0.3 percent, rattled by a media report flagging the possible withdrawal of the European Central Bank's bond buying programme.
"I don't think there is any weakness in the market; it's a pure technical correction and normal profit-booking," said R.K. Gupta, managing director, Taurus Asset Management, adding the next big trigger would probably be the corporate earnings. The Nifty Bank Index dropped 0.63 percent after gaining 2.55 percent in the last three sessions. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were among the biggest losers. Infosys Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd fell 1.16 percent and 1.45 percent, respectively, sending the Nifty IT Index down over 1 percent. Among the gainers, consumer stocks ITC Ltd and Hindustan Unilever Ltd rose as much as 0.85 percent and 1.55 percent, respectively.
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