Nifty extends fall, down for fourth straight day

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Nifty fell for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, as concerns the central bank would no longer cut interest rates this year continued to sour sentiment, especially for rate-sensitive stocks.

Traders said the prospect of no rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India comes amid concerns about growth prospects, with indicators such as corporate earnings and credit growth signalling the economy is struggling.

Foreign investors remained net sellers for a second consecutive session after provisional data showed they offloaded a net $113.93 million on Wednesday.

"As of now, the apprehension is that things are not happening on the ground, and that is the reason market is seeing exodus of traders. The fall is largely due to withdrawal of money by some of the global traders," said Deven Choksey, managing director of K. R. Choksey Securities.

The Nifty was down 0.76 percent, heading towards a fourth day of decline.

The Sensex fell 0.84 percent, and was on track for a third straight day of losses.

ICICI Bank fell 3.01 percent, its fourth straight session of losses, as analysts cited concerns over the bank's loan exposure to the property sector.

Property firms and infrastructure shares tumbled on Wednesday due to concerns companies would find it difficult to reduce debt levels should there be no rate cuts.

But some of those companies recovered on Thursday, with Unitech Ltd up 10.98 percent after falling 35.7 percent on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)