Sensex, Nifty fall for fifth day led by L&T, HDFC Bank

By Vishal Sridhar

REUTERS - Indian shares fell as much as one percent on Monday and extended losses for a fifth straight session, tracking weakness in Asian peers, with index heavyweights Larsen & Toubro Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd dragging down the indexes.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.35 percent, while Chinese stocks remained shaky following the Federal Reserve's hawkish policy stance and S&P's downgrade of China's sovereign rating last week.

The Nifty was down 0.93 percent at 9,871.95 as of 0546 GMT, while the Sensex was 0.83 percent lower at 31,656.37.

"It's a clear case of correction out there with investors taking a more cautious approach in the near term," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of research - Equity, Centrum Wealth.

Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd and Larsen & Tourbro Ltd fell 1.5 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

The Nifty PSU Bank index was down for a third straight session, sliding as much as 2.8 percent. Andhra Bank and Canara Bank Ltd lost more than 2 percent each.

Tata Steel Ltd was among the top percentage losers on the index, plunging more than 4 percent and pushing the Nifty Metal index lower.

Meanwhile, Shopper's Stop Ltd climbed to its highest since Feb. 5, 2015 after an Amazon affiliate agreed to buy a stake in the retailer.

(Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)