Mumbai : Indian stocks fell yesterday, with the benchmark index declining for the first time in three weeks. Infosys Technologies dropped as the central bank said the country has become more vulnerable to global markets.
Software exporter Infosys retreated for a fourth day after the Reserve Bank of India said on Thursday foreign trade plays a bigger role in the economy, exposing the country to slowdowns and financial crises. Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd., the biggest copper and zinc producer, lost 2.1 per cent.
"Investors can hold cash for now and wait for a correction," said R.K. Gupta, portfolio manager and managing director at Taurus Asset Management in New Delhi. "If at all, they can bet on the domestic growth story."
The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, fell 48.38, or 0.3 per cent, to 17,460.95. The gauge declined 0.7 per cent last week, after gaining the previous two.
The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange lost 0.3 per cent to 5,237.10. The BSE 200 Index retreated 0.3 per cent to 2,223.59.
Top losers
Infosys, the second-largest software services exporter that gets almost all of its sales abroad, slid 1.4 per cent to Rs2,727.5. Sterlite, the biggest copper producer that derives about a third of its revenue outside of India, fell 2.1 per cent to Rs160.7.
"The shift in the composition of aggregate demand towards exports during the current decade has made the Indian economy more susceptible to global developments," the Reserve Bank of India's research department said on Thursday.