Indian shares fell 2.51 percent on Friday as investors unwound positions on concerns of weak corporate quarterly earnings in January, dealers said. The benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 239.8 points to 9,328.92, its fourth day of losses.
"The sell-off has continued on concerns of a further slowdown in economic growth and quarterly earnings," said a dealer with brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher. The markets re-opened Friday after Christmas on Thursday. Sentiment was impacted after media reports that advance tax paid by India's corporates has declined 22 percent to about 426 billion rupees (8.89 billion dollars) in the quarter ending December, from 550 billion rupees last year.
Investors will now await quarterly earnings from Indian corporates to determine fresh buying positions in the new year. India's earnings season commences with top software exporter Infosys on January 13. In Friday's trade, losers led gainers 1,597 to 866 on turnover of 31.62 billion rupees (660 million dollars).
The rupee strengthened against the dollar to 47.89 from 48.99 and against the euro to 67.37 from 68.44. The rupee has been under pressure against the dollar for several months as funds have pulled out money to put it in assets regarded as safer havens.
Overseas funds have been net sellers of Indian stocks for the year, having sold 13.09 billion dollars so far in 2008, official data showed. India's top property firm DLF fell 17.55 rupees or 5.97 percent to 276.4, while India's largest private sector firm Reliance Industries fell 29.2 rupees or 2.35 percent to 1,212.
The Reliance group subsidiary Reliance Petroleum rose 5.05 rupees or 6.34 percent to 84.7, after the company said Friday it started processing crude oil at its new refinery in western India, creating the world's biggest refining complex. The company opened its 580,000 barrel a day refinery in Jamnagar in the western state of Gujarat on Friday, Reliance Petroleum (RPL) said in a statement.