Nifty, Sensex fall ahead of expiry of derivatives contracts

By Jessica Kuruthukulangara

(Reuters) - Indian shares slipped on Wednesday, dragged down by private-sector lenders such as ICICI Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd, with risk appetite hurt by a fall in global equities.

Asian shares outside Japan fell more than 1 percent after Wall Street retreated overnight.

Indian stocks are expected to have a volatile session, ahead of the expiry of derivatives contracts and an extended holiday.

"Towards the close, we may see some buying coming in as today is the last day for the financial year," said Krish Subramanyam, co-head and equity adviser at Altamount Capital, adding that the market is expected to stage a recovery in April.

The Nifty was down 0.49 percent at 10,134.25 as of 0600 GMT, but was still on track to post a weekly gain of 1.26 percent.

The benchmark Sensex was 0.50 percent lower at 33,007.07, but was also set to post a weekly gain of 1.23 percent.

The indexes were on track to post a monthly loss of about 3.5 percent, their steepest drop for the month of March since 2015.

ICICI Bank and Axis Bank slipped as much as 2 percent, after gaining in the last two sessions.

The Nifty private bank index fell as much as 0.8 percent, on track to snap a two-day gaining streak.

Shares of IDBI Bank Ltd fell as much as 3.5 percent after the lender disclosed fraudulent loan disbursals to the tune of 7.72 billion rupees ($118.7 million).

Persistent Systems Ltd slid as much as 9.9 percent to its lowest in nearly two months after the software services provider forecast weak fourth-quarter revenue.

Indian markets will remain closed on Thursday and Friday on account of public holidays.

($1 = 65.0450 rupees)

(Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara; additional reporting by Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)