By Indulal PM
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex remained under pressure on Monday, falling for a fifth consecutive session as foreign investors turned sellers, hitting blue-chips such as ICICI Bank and Hindustan Unilever.
Overseas investors sold shares worth 7.23 billion rupees ($120.6 million) on Friday, after buying $1.6 billion worth of stocks in six straight sessions to Thursday, exchange and regulatory data showed.
The selling comes after foreign funds had largely been behind a near 20 percent rally in Indian shares this year. Analysts cited disappointment with the Narendra Modi-led government's maiden budget, which lacked major reforms or enough details about how to meet ambitious fiscal deficit targets.
The selloff on Friday was attributed to worries that the controversial general anti-avoidance rules for foreign investors would be implemented starting next year, although a senior finance ministry official clarified on Monday the government was yet to take a formal stance on the matter.
Still, some analysts said they did not expect further falls. Data after the close of markets on Monday showed consumer price inflation easing to 7.31 percent in June from a year earlier, the lowest since the government started releasing the data in 2012.
"The budget euphoria is over. And we have seen a meaningful correction, which is giving an opportunity to add quality stocks to the portfolio. There could be some minor corrections, but the undercurrent is still positive," said Deven Choksey, managing director, KR Choksey Securities.
The benchmark BSE index ended 0.07 percent lower at 25,006.98 points. The broader NSE index also edged down 0.07 percent to 7,454.15.
Recent outperformers among blue-chips continued to be hit by profit-taking. Hindustan Unilever Ltd fell 2.94 percent, while ICICI Bank ended 0.91 percent lower, and Bharti Airtel Ltd finished 1.01 percent down.
Among other decliners, Infosys fell 3.05 percent as investors took profits after recent gains, while some analysts cited disappointment with some of the details behind the software exporter's quarterly earnings unveiled on Friday, even though the results beat estimates.
Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries fell 0.81 percent after India's drug pricing regulator cut and capped the prices of more than 100 drugs used to treat diseases. Sun shares gained 4.8 percent in the previous week.
Titan Co Ltd ended 2.54 percent lower after its jewellery unit, Tanishq, said it had closed two gold deposit schemes, under which customers would deposit cash for a certain period and receive some jewellery at the end.
Metal stocks were among the gainers, with Hindalco Industries Ltd up 3.99 percent on optimism ahead of Chinese GDP data, due on Wednesday. Tata Steel Ltd rose 2.3 percent, while JSW Steel ended 1.02 percent higher.
State-run oil marketing companies also gained, with Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd rising 2.7 percent after a fall in international crude prices. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd ended up 1.4 percent, while Oil and Natural Gas Corp gained 1.7 percent.
(Reporting by Indulal PM; additional reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)
