Nifty, Sensex slip on profit-taking; banks drag

(Reuters) - Indian shares fell marginally on Thursday on profit-booking in financials ahead of the expiry of futures and options contracts later in the day.

Gains in consumer and materials stocks were offset by losses in financials, and Asian stocks surrendered earlier gains as Chinese markets fixed on risks from the Sino-U.S. trade war.

“There is obviously some profit-booking, plus the F&O (futures and options) expiry today, all those things might have led to some pause in the overall momentum,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Securities.

The broader NSE Nifty was down 0.18 percent at 11,670.4, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.1 percent lower at 38,683.15.

Financial stocks like Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd dropped 1.5 percent to their lowest since August 24, while IndusInd Bank Ltd fell 1.6 percent to its lowest since May 24.

“Banks were outperforming Nifty for the last 2 weeks, some profit-booking might have happened, especially given the F&O expiry. Bond yields have hit highest in two months, that is another reason of concern for banks to be down. The rupee impacted bond yields, which has impacted bank stocks,” Khemka said.

India’s benchmark bond yield opened at 7.93 percent from its previous close of 7.92 percent, while the rupee extended its fall to hit a fresh low of 70.825 per dollar.

Consumer staples like ITC Ltd meanwhile rose 1.29 percent and Hindustan Unilever Ltd gained 0.67 percent.

India’s Greaves Cotton Ltd rose as much as 11.9 percent to an over 1-year high after it agreed to buy a 67 percent stake in Ratan Tata-backed electric vehicle maker Ampere Vehicles.

Brokerage Goldman Sachs began coverage on Indian copper and aluminium producer Vedanta Ltd with a ‘buy’ rating and a target price of 280 rupees.

The company’s shares rose nearly 1 pct in morning trade.