Nifty retreats from record high on profit taking

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Nifty edged lower on Wednesday, unable to sustain a rally after hitting a third consecutive record high earlier in session as investors took profits in blue-chips such as Oil and Natural Gas Corp.

The falls ended a six-day rally, the longest winning streak since an eight-session run in mid-July.

Falls also tracked lower global stocks ahead of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's July policy meeting and the Jackson Hole gathering of central bankers later in the week. A rebound in Brent crude oil from 14-month lows also led to paring of some positions.

Still, broader losses were capped as overseas investors continued to be active buyers, especially in derivatives.

 

Foreign funds added 41.22 billion rupees ($677.4 million) in exposure to Indian equity derivatives on Tuesday, exchange data showed.

"Indian shares are still good buys given the economic recovery, government's reform talk and the central bank's focus on increasing resilience against an expected rise in U.S. rates," said G. Chokkalingam, founder of Equinomics, a research and fund advisory firm.

The broader Nifty lost 0.28 percent, or 22.20 points, to end at 7,875.30, after earlier rising as much as 0.32 percent to hit an all-time high of 7,922.70.

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 0.4 percent, or 106.38 points, to end at 26,314.29 after marking its record high of 26,530.67 on Tuesday.

Among blue chips succumbing to profit-taking, ONGC fell 2.6 percent, while Tata Motors ended lower 1.3 percent.

ITC Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd both ended down 1.1 percent.

Oil marketing companies fell after Brent crude oil rebounded from 14-month lows. [O/R]

Bharat Petroleum Corp lost 1.1 percent, Hindustan Petroleum Corp was lower 0.8 percent, while Indian Oil Corp ended down 0.9 percent.

Drugmakers bucked the market trend as investors sought defensives.

Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 4.6 percent, while Sun Pharmaceutical Industries ended higher 4.6 percent after earlier marking an all-time high of 849.80 rupees.

Dr.Reddy's Laboratories gained 2 percent after a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday showed key drugs gaining market share in the U.S. market, analysts said.

Just Dial gained 2.4 percent on its proposal to raise the foreign investment limit.