Sensex, Nifty dip for second session as rupee hits record low

By Aparajita Saxena

(Reuters) - Indian shares fell for a second straight session on Monday tracking weak Asian peers, with financials accounting for more than half of the losses on the NSE index and the rupee hitting an all-time low against the dollar.

HDFC Bank, down 1.3 percent, was the top drag on the NSE Index after the lender on Friday said its deputy managing director was stepping down. Nomura, in a note, said Paresh Sukthankar's resignation was a "mild negative" in the near term.

State Bank of India shares fell nearly 3 percent after the top public sector lender reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Friday.

The NSE banking index was down 1 percent and the PSU banking index was trading 2.2 percent lower at its lowest level in over a week.

"The movement is very stock-focused today, with financials being the obvious drags after news on HDFC and SBI on Friday," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services in Cochin.

There was a risk-on environment in emerging markets over the last two-to-three weeks, and specifically for India, sentiment had turned from 'very negative' to 'marginally positive' in the said period. However, indications now show that 'risk-on' is fading, Nair added.

Nifty energy sector fell one percent, led by index heavyweight Reliance Industries, down 1.2 percent on profit-booking, analysts said.

Oil prices dipped on Monday after rising trade tensions dimmed outlook for fuel demand growth, especially in Asia.

Asian stocks witnessed sell-off as risk aversion following the sharp drop in the Turkish lira drove demand for safer asset classes.

At 0632 GMT, the broader NSE Nifty was down 0.6 percent at 11,360.45.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.61 percent lower at 37,637.57.

The Indian rupee hit an all-time low of 69.62 per dollar on broader weakness in other emerging market currencies following the Turkish rout spill-over.

Vedanta Ltd fell 3.5 percent while the Nifty metals index was down 0.4 percent.

Cinema theatre operator PVR Ltd fell 2.6 percent after it said it would buy a majority stake in South India-based SPI Cinemas.

Among the gainers, United Breweries was up nearly 7 percent at a seven-week high after posting a 37 percent rise in June-quarter profit on Friday.

(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)