Sensex edges lower as overseas investors sell

Reuters Market Eye - The BSE Sensex falls 0.08 percent, retreating further after posting its biggest weekly loss since December 2011 on Friday. The Nifty is down 0.02 percent.

Sentiment is also hit after foreign institutional investors sold Indian shares worth 7.23 billion rupees ($120.60 million) on Friday, after buying $1.6 billion worth of shares in the six straight sessions to Thursday, according to exchange and regulatory data.

Infosys Ltd led the fall on profit-taking after gaining 1 percent in the previous session as the company's earnings beat expectations. The stock gained 10.8 percent in June and 2.2 percent so far this month as of Friday.

 

Other defensive stocks such as healthcare companies are also trading lower on profit-taking. Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries is down 0.5 percent after gaining 4.8 percent in the previous week, while Dr Reddy's Laboratories is down 0.51 percent.

However, losses are limited on the back of gains in oil and gas stocks after crude prices fall to a three-month low. Reliance Industries Ltd is up 0.22 percent, while Oil and Natural Gas Corp is higher 1.1 percent.

(Reporting by Indulal PM)