Nifty falls for second straight session; IT stocks hit

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Nifty fell for a second consecutive session on Thursday to its lowest close in nearly a week as IT outsourcers such as Infosys fell after global rival Cognizant cut its annual revenue guidance.

Falls also tracked lower global shares as a Russian troop build-up on the border with Ukraine and sanctions between the West and Moscow kept risk appetite in check.

A sharp slowdown in buying by foreign investors also raised concerns given they had led shares to record highs as late as July. Despite buying a net $46.28 million in shares on Wednesday, they remain net sellers of $361.54 million so far this month.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday also reiterated his warnings about the potentially destabilising impact should iinvestors start bailing out of risky assets, warning global markets were risking a "crash."

"Local factors are pretty much under control. It's the global factors that are worrying everybody. One needs to watch out how Russia, and European issues play out," said Deven Choksey, managing director at K R Choksey Securities.

The benchmark Sensex lost 0.3 percent to end at 25,589.01.

The broader Nifty fell 0.3 percent to close at 7,649.25.

Both indexes also marked their lowest close since Aug. 1.

IT outsources fell after Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp forecast its slowest full-year sales growth in its 20-year history, citing delays in booking revenue from some large deals.

Infosys fell 1.9 percent, Tata Consultancy Services lost 1.5 percent, while HCL Technologies ended down 1.9 percent.

Tata Motors fell 1.2 percent on continued worries about sales in China from unit Jaguar Land Rover.

China's antitrust regulator said on Wednesday it would punish Audi and Chrysler for monopoly practices, potentially paving the way for the automakers to be fined up to 10 percent of their domestic annual sales revenue in the world's biggest car market.

Among other blue-chips, Sesa Sterlite fell 1.4 percent while Hindustan Unilever ended down 0.8 percent.

Jubilant Foodworks Ltd fell 4.2 percent after the company's June-quarter profit fell.

Traders cited special concerns about a fall of 2.4 percent in same-store sales from a year earlier.

However, railway wagon and track manufacturers gained after the cabinet approved a plan to hike foreign investment in railways.

Texmaco Rail and Engineering gained 3.9 percent, while Titagarh Wagons ended up 1.3 percent.

MM Forgings Ltd jumped by its daily limit of 20 percent to a record high of 283.65 rupees after the company on Wednesday posted its highest ever quarterly revenue and profit in April-June.

(Editing by Sunil Nair)