Sensex set to extend losses, heavyweights weigh

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's stock markets headed on Tuesday for their seventh losing session in eight, falling to fresh 1-1/2-year lows as risk aversion ahead of a slew of earnings, including from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) weighed on sentiment.

Caution also prevailed ahead as data later in the day is expected to show consumer inflation edged up to an annualised 5.6 percent, which would likely prevent the central bank for cutting interest rates further for now.

"If earnings are going to be on the lower side then obviously traders will weigh heavy on the market, but there is also a complete absence of buying at least in the frontline stocks," said Deven Choksey, managing director at KR Choksey Securities.

 

The broader NSE Nifty was trading 0.9 percent lower at 0745 GMT falling as much as 1 percent to its lowest intraday level since July 15, 2014.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was down 0.77 percent lower after falling as much as 0.92 percent to its lowest since June 2, 2014.

TCS, India's largest company by market capitalisation, fell 2 percent ahead of reporting quarterly results later in the day. Smaller rival Infosys Ltd , which will report quarterly results on Wednesday, fell about 1 percent.

Among other decliners, bank stocks were deep in the red on worries that a crisis in China could be a precursor to global financial crisis adding to concerns over Indian banks already struggling with bad loans back home.

Axis Bank fell 3.4 percent after Deutsche Bank cut its target price on the stock to 500 rupees from 650 rupees.

Other banking stocks such as HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank , Kotak Mahindra Bank were down between 1 percent and 3 percent.

Aviation stocks, however, defied the downtrend and rose on falling crude prices. Jet Airways gained 3 percent as crude, the biggest cost for airlines, fell below $31 a barrel.

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