Sensex Falls For Fourth Day

(RTTNews) - Indian shares fell for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, with banks pacing the decliners, a day after the Reserve Bank of India left its key interest rates unchanged, saying it will wait for more data on inflation, GDP growth and fiscal deficit numbers before taking any rate action.

Economic reports were mixed, with growth in India's core sector industries slowing to a three-month low in December, while a gauge of services sector activity signaled further growth in January.

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 117.03 points or 0.40 percent to 28,883.11 and the broader Nifty index closed down 32.85 points or 0.38 percent at 8,723.70 to hit fresh two-week lows.

Axis Bank and BHEL fell about 4 percent each, Tech Mahindra dropped 2.6 percent, SBI fell 2.5 percent, Tata Motors declined 1.9 percent and TCS shed 1.7 percent.

Bharti Airtel eased 0.7 percent before announcing its earnings results after the market close. Crompton Greaves slumped 6.1 percent after posting lower than expected earnings for the December quarter.

ONGC rallied 2.4 percent and Oil India advanced 2.7 percent on reports that the government has come up with a new proposal for sharing fuel subsidy burden. Cairn India shares jumped 3.4 percent after oil prices jumped again on Tuesday on speculation that the market has bottomed out.

Canara Bank and Tata Power Company rallied about 3 percent each on robust Q3 results. Wockhardt soared 10 percent after the pharmaceuticals major reported a 14 percent increase in consolidated net profit for the third quarter ended December.

Among other prominent gainers, Sun Pharma, Lupin, Sesa Sterlite, Coal India and Hindalco Industries climbed 2-4 percent.

On the global front, the Asian markets followed Wall Street higher as gains in oil and copper prices as well as hopes for a new Greek debt swap deal eased concerns over global growth. Chinese shares bucked the upward trend to end sharply lower in a late-day selloff, as weak services sector data dampened investor sentiment.

European stocks drifted lower following two days of strong gains, as oil prices resumed declines after a four-day rally and optimism over the U.S. economy faded ahead of the monthly jobs report due later this week.