Indian shares fell as recent gainers such as Reliance Industries were hit by profit-booking, while IT stocks fell due to concerns about their outlooks on a day in which the expiry of derivatives led to record volumes in the futures and options (F&O) segment. Turnover in F&O on Thursday reached around 4.2 trillion Indian rupees ($75.8 billion), an all-time high, several traders said, as the number of contracts rolled over from the December contracts to the January series fell.
According to data culled from traders, the more actively traded National Stock Exchange saw around 62 percent of contracts rolled over, marking a decrease from around 72 percent carried over in November. The reduced rollovers lead to higher volumes as investors settle the contracts.
"There seems to be the lot of unwinding of the long outstanding contract to start with new slate, resulting in the highest turnover on Thursday," said K K Mital, head of portfolio management at Globe Capital. The benchmark BSE index fell 0.48 percent, or 93.66 points, to end at 19,323.80.
The broader NSE index fell 0.6 percent, or 35.50 points, to end at 5,870.10, ending below the psychological level of 5,900 points. India's BSE has gained around 25 percent this year, backed by about $24 billion in foreign buying across domestic equities. Among decliners on Thursday, Reliance Industries Ltd fell 1.3 percent hit by profit-taking after shares gained 4.4 percent so this month as of Wednesday, trumping a 0.2 percent fall in the NSE index. Other shares that were hit by profit-taking included Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, which fell 1.5 percent, and Hindustan Unilever Ltd, which ended down 1 percent.
Technology shares extended falls on caution ahead of their earnings next month and uncertainty about their 2013 outlooks. Infosys Ltd shares fell 1.2 percent, while Tata Consultancy Services Ltd lost 0.9 percent. However, among gainers, Tata Motors Ltd shares gained 1 percent as hopes for a better outlook in 2013 for key unit Jaguar Land Rover led investors to roll over their derivatives positions, according to traders.