BSE Sensex heads towards fifth straight session of losses

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares headed for a fifth consecutive session of losses on Tuesday as Asian markets hit a one-month low on continued concerns about the state of the global economy and potential U.S. interest rate hikes.

Shares had hit a six-week low on Monday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's heavy defeat in Bihar state elections raised concerns that his government will struggle to pass policy reforms.

Trading was also subdued in a holiday-shortened week. Markets will open on Wednesday for a special one-hour trading session on Diwali, a Hindu religious holiday, and close on Thursday.

But InterGlobe Aviation Ltd , owner of carrier IndiGo, surged 17.6 percent from its initial public offering price 765 rupees in its market debut, as investors bet on future profits in one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets.

 

"The momentum of the market is still weak, there are no major takers. Majority of the frontline companies are trading weak because of weak fundamentals," said Alex Mathews head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas.

The Nifty was trading 1.12 percent lower falling as much as 1.28 percent earlier in the session.

The Sensex was down 0.91 percent after falling as much as 1.1 percent earlier in the day.

Both indexes have fallen in 11 out of the previous 12 sessions.

Blue-chip stocks were the biggest drag on the NSE index. Reliance was down 2.8 percent, Sun Pharma fell 3.9 percent, while Infosys slipped 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, shares in IndiGo rivals Jet Airways fell 1.83 percent while Spicejet was down 3.13 percent on concerns that investors would pick IndiGo over its rivals.

GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd gained 4 percent after the company's September-quarter loss narrowed.

(Reporting by Karen Rebelo in Mumbai; Editing by Anand Basu)