Indian shares fell for a fifth session and ended their worst week in one-and-a-half years after State Bank of India sank following weak June-quarter results, further weakening sentiment in a market reeling under North Korea tensions. Weakening global risk appetite has sparked a wide round of profit-taking after shares scaled record highs last week.
The benchmark BSE index closed down 1.01 percent at 31,213.59, its lowest close in over a month. The broader NSE index ended 1.11 percent lower at 9,710.80. Both indexes ended nearly 3.5 percent lower for the week, snapping a five-week winning streak, marking their worst week since mid-February 2016.
"The mood got aggravated because global markets opened negatively. it's more of a fear factor," said Anita Gandhi, whole-time director, Arihant Capital Markets, adding that markets were overripe in terms of valuation. Nifty Bank index dropped as much as 1.3 percent. The index was down nearly 2.5 percent this week up to Thursday's close. Nifty Auto index fell as much 2.3 percent to its lowest since May 24, with Tata Motors and Eicher Motors figuring among top losers.
Union Bank of India Ltd fell as much as 7.7 percent to its lowest in over seven months after the state-run bank's profit fell about 30 percent, missing analysts' estimate. Shares of J Kumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries resumed trade after India's Securities Appellate Tribunal stayed a SEBI order on trading curbs. Shares in both companies shed as much as 20 percent.