Indian Shares Fall On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - Indian shares fell sharply on Friday, retreating from record highs reached earlier in the session, as the India Meteorological Department's forecast that this year's southwest monsoon rains will be just below normal sparked worries amongst investors. The Indian economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, and as such, a bad monsoon can lead to a spurt in food inflation and derail GDP growth.

The benchmark 30-share S&P BSE Sensex hit a record high of 22,939.31 earlier in the day before reversing direction to end down 188.47 points or 0.82 percent at 22,688.07, with 21 of its components retreating. Likewise, the broader CNX Nifty Index climbed to a fresh record high of 6,869.85 before erasing gains to finish down 58.05 points or 0.85 percent at 6,782.75.

Capital goods, power, oil/gas and FMCG stocks tumbled, while consumer durable, realty and healthcare stocks witnessed stock-specific buying.

Cement manufacturers ACC and Ambuja Cements plunged 3-5 percent despite the companies posting better than expected quarterly earnings, boosted by higher other income.

Cairn India slumped 4.9 percent on disappointing results. The energy producer issued muted production guidance after reporting quarterly earnings in line with expectations.

ICICI Bank fell 2.4 percent. The country's largest private sector lender reported a 15 percent increase in quarterly net profit, beating estimates, helped by loan growth and an increase in fee income.

Maruti Suzuki India dropped 1.4 percent. The carmaker's quarterly profit fell 35 percent, missing estimates, hurt by lower volumes and higher sales promotion expenses.

Gujarat NRE Coke lost a percent. The company said it would issue fresh shares to lenders through a private placement and equity share warrants to promoters under a corporate debt restructuring plan.

Wockhardt fell 1.5 percent after the regulator in Himachal Pradesh suspended the manufacture, sale and distribution of one of its formulations.

Biocon rose 1.2 percent on robust earnings, with fourth-quarter profit climbing 140 percent year-over-year on a consolidated basis. Yes Bank soared 6.2 percent after posting strong Q4 earnings and inducting two more independent directors.

Allahabad Bank rallied 3.8 percent on reports it plans to raise up to Rs. 320 crore through qualified institutional placements by June 30 this year.

DLF advanced 0.9 percent. The realty firm announced that it has leased out 3 million square feet of office space in 2013-14 despite slowdown in the economy.

IT stocks turned in a mixed performance. Infosys, which has entered into a strategic partnership with French telecommunications major Orange, ended little changed with a positive bias, while TCS declined half a percent and Wipro fell 1.3 percent.

On the global front, Asian stocks fell broadly as investors weighed escalating tensions in Ukraine against positive earnings from a number of U.S. corporate heavyweights. European stocks also traded lower in the afternoon as traders digested a slew of mixed earnings reports.