Indian shares edged down on Tuesday after five consecutive sessions of gains as investors took profits, but indexes were still up for a third straight month, outperforming all regional markets. The benchmark BSE index fell 0.22 percent to end at 26,667.96, but gained 4.1 percent this month. In dollar terms, the index rose 4 percent in May, overtaking the Pakistan Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index as the best performer in the region this month, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The broader NSE index fell 0.22 percent to 8,160.10. The gains have come after companies posted resilient earnings for January-March and after weather forecasters predicted above-average monsoon after two consecutive years of drought. But traders say consolidation could be in order for June, with a potential rate hike from the US Federal Reserve and as Great Britain gears up to vote on whether to leave or stay in the European Union.
At home, India is due to release economic growth data later in the day, while the Reserve Bank of India is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold next week. "GDP, RBI and FOMC in the US are some of the important events that are likely to keep us hooked and would keep upside capped for the time being, especially in large caps, while mid-and small-caps would play the catch-up game," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
Some of the top performers for this month led declines on Tuesday. Larsen & Toubro fell 0.7 percent but was up around 18 percent for May after posting upbeat earnings. Tech Mahindra and Housing Development Finance Corp fell around 0.7 percent each. Both stocks were among the top five performers on the 50-member NSE index for this month.
Among other losers, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell 6 percent on Tuesday after the company reported quarterly earnings below analyst estimates. Among gainers, Tata Motors rose as much as 10.1 percent to its highest level since June 3, 2015 after the company surprised investors with January-March earnings. Hindalco Industries was up nearly 2 percent after rising 12 percent on Monday on robust earnings.