India's NSE index fell more than 1 percent on Thursday, its biggest one-day fall in four months, as investors locked in profits on recent gains and as global markets were hit over swirling political uncertainty in the United States. The broader NSE index lost 1.01 percent to end at 9,429.45, posting its biggest fall since January 20. The benchmark BSE index closed down 0.73 percent at 30,434.79, its biggest fall since May 5.
Both indexes had hit record highs in each of the previous three sessions. "However, there is nothing to panic about; the markets are more active now than, say, they were a fortnight ago. Investors who stuck to the sidelines are likely to re-enter the markets looking for a bargain hunt," said Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Only eight out of 51 stocks on the NSE index were trading in the green. Shares of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd fell as much as 2.66 percent after an arm of Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah looked to exit the healthcare provider by selling its remaining 4.78 percent stake. United Breweries Ltd, brewer of Kingfisher beer, dropped as much as 4.8 percent after reporting an 87 percent fall in profit for the March-quarter.