Nifty, Sensex slip, financials drag

By Tanvi Mehta

(Reuters) - Indian shares tracked global markets lower on Thursday hurt by declines in the financial sector, as investors remained cautious ahead of the start of corporate earnings season next week.

U.S. stock futures fell and Asian shares wobbled after a rare revenue warning from Apple Inc added to worries about slowing global growth and weaker earnings.

"People are waiting for triggers," said Jayant Manglik, president of retail distribution at Religare Broking in New Delhi.

"Issues on the global front for the next few weeks will have to be watched," he said, while expressing optimism about corporate earnings.

Top software services exporters Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd are set to report results for the December-quarter earnings next week.

The broader NSE Nifty was down 0.28 percent at 10,762.70 as of 0536 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.15 percent lower at 35,837.17.

Financial stocks pulled the indexes lower, with Housing Development Finance Corp and HDFC Bank leading the decline.

Energy stocks also took a beating, with Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corp falling 3 percent and 2.3 percent respectively. They were the top percentage decliners on the NSE index.

Eicher Motors Ltd fell for the second day after reporting weak sales for December.

Telecom firms Vodafone Idea Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd fell 2.2 percent and 0.5 percent respectively, after monthly data showed only a modest increase in India's mobile phone customer base.

Shares of state-run Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank tumbled after the cabinet approved their merger with Bank of Baroda.

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)