Indian shares fell 1.7 percent Monday in cautious trade as investors sold ahead of the expiry of the monthly futures contract later this week, dealers said. The benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 171.56 points to 9,928.35, after two days of gains.
"Weak global trends dampened sentiment ahead of the monthly futures expiry" on Wednesday, said a dealer with brokerage Jamnadas Morarjee. Economists now expect India's central bank to lower interest rates in coming weeks as inflationary pressures ease.
India's inflation rate fell to a nine-month low Thursday, maintaining a sharp downward trend and giving more room for rate cuts to spur an ailing economy. Annual inflation fell 1.16 percentage points to 6.84 percent for the week ending December 6, according to the Wholesale Price Index, the most watched cost-of-living gauge.
In Monday's trade, gainers led losers 1,276 to 1,258 on turnover of 38.61 billion rupees (814 million dollars). Overseas funds have been net sellers of Indian stocks for the year, having sold 12.94 billion dollars so far in 2008, official data showed.