Nifty falls for third day on earnings worries

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's stock markets edged lower on Wednesday, posting their third consecutive loss, after blue-chips Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Hindustan Unilever Ltd declined following disappointment over their quarterly earnings.

Although TCS, India's largest software services exporter, met market expectations on Tuesday with a 14.5 pct rise in quarterly net profit, some analysts had hoped for better earnings and said the outlook for the sector could get tougher.

Meanwhile, Hindustan Unilever, India's largest consumer goods company, on Wednesday reported a 2.6 percent fall in second-quarter profit, missing analysts' expectations.

TCS shares slumped 4.4 percent, while Hindustan Unilever declined 1.9 percent.

 

The broader Nifty fell 0.29 percent to 8,107.90, extending its weekly loss to 1 percent.

The benchmark BSE Sensex dropped 0.25 percent to 26,779.66, down 1.1 percent for the week.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi and Rafael Nam; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)