Indian shares extend declines, post two percent weekly fall

Indian shares recovered some of their early losses in late trade on Friday, but subdued global indicators and muted domestic earnings led to the markets ending in the red again. The trading sentiment also took a blow after a suicide bomber killed 44 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir on Thursday, raising tensions with arch foe Pakistan.
The benchmark BSE index marked its seventh consecutive fall, closing down 0.19 percent at 35,808.95, its longest run of losses in over a year. The broader NSE index ended 0.20 percent lower at 10,724.4, losing 3.1 percent in six straight sessions of declines.
For the week, both the indexes tumbled 2 percent. Dr Reddy's Laboratories, which fell nearly 30 percent in morning trade, pulled back some losses to end 3.9 percent lower while Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd closed down 1.36 percent, contributing to nearly half of the NSE index's declines. Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd was the top loser on the NSE index after research firm Jefferies said 11 FDA observations under Form 483 on a unit of the drug firm included four repeat observations.
The generic drugmaker's Hyderabad-based plant was marked by the US Food And Drug Administration last week. The FDA Form 483 notifies a company's management of objectionable conditions.
That had a knock-on effect on other pharma stocks, with the Nifty Pharma index falling 3.9 percent. Investors were also cautious ahead of a meeting between the US and China in Beijing, where the world's two largest economies attempt to resolve their trade dispute.
Investor sentiment also took a beating after a suicide bomber killed 44 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir on Thursday, raising tensions with arch foe Pakistan. The December-quarter results brought little cheer to investors. Keenly watched Jet Airways ltd reported its fourth straight quarterly loss while Ashok Leyland Ltd joined an extensive list of automakers to post a drop in quarterly profit.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd also posted a profit decline while Tata Motors Ltd reported a 269.93 billion rupees ($3.79 billion) loss earlier this month. "In the near term, muted Dec18 quarter earnings growth and election uncertainty are likely to remain an overhang on the markets," said Vipin Khare, director of research at William O'Neil India.
"Even as the market is making a rally attempt, it continues to trade in a narrow band. On the downside, we would turn more cautious if the market closes below its recent lows of the last correction."
Ashok Leyland Ltd slid 4 percent after posting a 21.4 percent quarterly profit fall while Jet shrugged off early losses and was trading 4 percent higher. Jet's board approved a rescue deal which would fix a near 85 billion rupees ($1.19 billion) funding gap and make its lendders its largest shareholders Nestle India Ltd fell 3 percent despite reporting a 10 percent growth in quarterly profit.