Sensex snaps nine-day winning streak on profit taking

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex snapped a nine-day winning streak on Thursday as investors pared positions in blue-chips such as ICICI Bank after a string of record highs earlier in the week, and as caution prevailed ahead of a key ECB meeting.

The Sensex gained 3.1 percent in its biggest rising streak since 11 sessions ending Oct. 3, 2007, compared with a 0.4 percent rise in MSCI's broadest index to gauge Asian shares ex Japan in the same period.

A month-long march higher for European and Asian stock markets stalled on Thursday on concerns the European Central Bank will do nothing immediate at its meeting later in the day to address a deteriorating economic outlook.

Investors say consolidation is healthy for Indian equities which are in a bullish phase due to bottoming out of domestic economic growth amid various reforms initiated by the Narendra Modi-led government.

"It is a bull market and such falls are healthy. If it dips more I would allocate to good companies quoting at attractive valuations," said G. Chokkalingam, founder of Equinomics, a research and fund advisory firm.

The Sensex fell 0.2 percent, or 54.01 points, to end at 27,085.93 after hitting its fourth consecutive high on Wednesday at 27,225.85.

The broader Nifty lost 0.23 percent, or 18.65 points, to end at 8,095.95, after marking its third straight all-time high of 8,141.90 in the previous session.

Shares of blue-chip companies led the falls. ICICI Bank fell 0.6 percent while Tata Consultancy Services ended 0.8 percent lower.

Reliance Industries lost 0.5 percent and Tata Motors ended down 1.8 percent.

DLF Ltd lost 8.4 percent after local media reported that the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday cancelled the allotment a 350-acre plot of land the company had acquired from Haryana.

"The Company is awaiting a copy of the order and can offer detailed comments only pursuant to that," DLF said in a statement.

Shares of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd slumped 17.6 percent to mark their biggest single-day fall since January 2009 on speculation that promoters were reducing their stakes.

Jaiprakash clarified in a statement that one of its promoters had reduced stake in the company to 28.30 percent from 29.75 percent.

However, UPL Ltd gained 7.7 percent while Coromandel International rose 2.6 percent on attractive relative valuations ahead of the initial public offer of rival Sharda Cropchem, investors said.

(Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)