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Corrected: Nifty, Sensex snap three-day rally as consumer, financials drag

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Reuters
Last Updated : Dec 14 2018 | 4:25 PM IST

(Corrects to remove reference in paragraph 3 to indexes heading for weekly losses)

By Chris Thomas

(Reuters) - Indian shares edged lower in line with broader Asia on Friday as investors booked profits after a three-day rally, with financials and consumer stocks leading the losses, but Bharti Airtel Ltd surged on a regulatory win.

Both the broader Nifty and the benchmark Sensex were down 0.17 percent at 10,773.15 and 35,868.15, respectively, as of 0551 GMT.

After the recent rally, the market is taking a breather, said Deven Choksey, founder, KR Choksey Investment Managers.

Weak data out of China, which sparked fresh worries of a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy, kept a lid on investor spending in Asian markets.

Investors were also awaiting the outcome of a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board meeting on Friday, Shaktikanta Das' first as its governor, at which governance issues - notably a push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration to have a bigger say in the RBI's regulatory decisions - will head the agenda.

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Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd's stock, down 1.5 percent, was the top drag on the NSE. Shares of IT major HCL Technologies Ltd declined the most, falling as much as 2.7 percent.

Shares of Fortis Healthcare Ltd plunged 14.3 percent after CNBC-TV18 reported that India's top court put Fortis' sale to IHH Healthcare Bhd Ltd on hold.

Bharti Airtel Ltd's stock surged 10 percent after a tribunal dismissed the telecom regulatory authority's order on predatory pricing. The stock was the top percentage gainer on the Nifty.

Shares of its larger rival Vodafone Idea Ltd jumped 8 percent to an over two-week high.

Indian Oil Corp Ltd's counter rose as much as 3.5 percent after it approved a buyback worth up to 44.35 billion rupees.

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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First Published: Dec 14 2018 | 4:19 PM IST

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