Indian Shares Tumble On F&O Expiry

(RTTNews) - Indian shares swung between gains and losses before closing sharply lower on Wednesday amid the expiry of December series derivative contracts.

Fears of capital flight kept investors on edge after overnight data showed the U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace since 2003 last quarter, buoyed by stronger consumer and business spending.

GDP grew an annual 5 percent during the summer months, a sharp revision from an earlier estimate of 3.9 percent, cementing expectations the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates sooner rather than later.

The rupee slipped past 63.50 levels in the afternoon, reflecting concerns among investors about Modi's ability to pass reforms to revive the economy.

The government today approved an executive order to implement coal and insurance reforms after a month-long parliament session that ended on Tuesday failed to vote on the crucial bills. An ordinance is valid for six months and must be approved by lawmakers in both houses of parliament within six months to make the change permanent.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex reversed early gains to end the session down 297.85 points or 1.08 percent at 27,208.61, while the broader CNX Nifty index fell 92.90 points or 1.12 percent to 8,174.10.

Among the prominent decliners, Coal India, Infosys, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, HDFC, GAIL, NTPC and BHEL fell 2-3 percent.

Shares of oil exploring companies such as Cain India, ONGC and Reliance Industries dropped 1-2 percent after Brent crude futures dipped as much as 1.6 percent in London. NTPC lost 2.4 percent as its board approved a proposal to issue bonus debentures to shareholders.

UltraTech Cement jumped 3.4 percent after it agreed to buy Jaypee's two cement plans. Shares of Jjaiprakash Associates, meanwhile, soared 9 percent.

Reliance Capital rallied 3.7 percent, Max India rose 2 percent and Exide Industries closed up nearly a percent after the Union Cabinet cleared the Ordinance on insurance sector.

Opto Circuits (India) shares soared 15 percent. The government today approved 100 percent foreign direct investment in medical devices sector via the automatic route.

Electrosteel Castings added 1.4 percent after the company said it had received board approval to offload investments in an associate company.

Manappuram Finance advanced 1.4 percent. The gold loan firm said it would acquire a 70 percent stake in Asirvad Microfinance Pvt. Ltd., which provides micro loans, housing and festival loans to poor women.

On the global front, the other Asian markets rose broadly after big revisions to U.S. third-quarter GDP growth powered U.S stocks to a record high overnight. Chinese stocks, however, tumbled for the second straight session, dragged down by financial stocks on concerns recent gains were overdone.

The European markets were mixed in a shortened session ahead of the Christmas break.