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Indian shares edge lower as lenders drag

Bengaluru - Both indexes Nifty and Sensex were down for a fifth straight session.

Indian shares inched lower in a choppy session early on Monday, weighed down by financials as investors sold off recent high-flying stocks.

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The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.36 per cent to 14,939.20 by 0352 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex was 0.33 per cent lower at 50,722.98. Both indexes were down for a fifth straight session.

State-run banks extended losses after snapping a five-session winning streak last week, slipping 1.7 per cent in early trade, and were the top decliners among 14 sectoral indexes. Still, the index is up 35.5 per cent so far in February.

On the Nifty 50, lenders Housing Development Finance Corp, Axis Bank and state Bank of India were among the top five drags, falling between 0.8 per cent and 1.5 per cent.

Cigarettes-to-hotels conglomerate ITC slipped 2.6 per cent and was the top drag on the Nifty FMCG index.

Other Asian stock markets eked out minor gains with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan adding 0.2 per cent as a rise in US bond yields unsettled investors.