India’s equity benchmarks ease as financials retreat from record highs
India’s benchmark indexes edged lower on Monday as profit-taking in financials near record highs outweighed optimism from easing geopolitical tensions and fresh foreign inflows. The Nifty 50 shed 0.19% to 25,590.45 points and the BSE Sensex fell 0.22% to 83,876.90 as of 10:14 a.m. IST. Seven of the 13 major sectors logged losses. High-weight financials, which hit a record high on Friday, lost 0.4%. The heaviest stock in the benchmark indexes HDFC Bank lost about 0.8%. Financials, metals lift Indian benchmarks to weekly gains as geopolitical, trade fears ease Meanwhile, small- and mid-cap indexes outperformed, rising 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively. Both the benchmarks are trading just about 2.5% below record high levels. They have gained about 3.5% in June, to take their overall rise to about 15% since the start of March. “Many promoters, private equity funds and early foreign investors are likely booking profits as markets approach the record high levels and valuations get stretched, spurring a pause in the rally,” said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research.