Indian shares slip as Bajaj Finance weighs; state-run lenders climb

A general view of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), after Sensex surpassed the 50,000 level for the first time, in Mumbai, India, January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

BENGALURU, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Indian shares inched lower on Monday, weighed down by financials and auto stocks, while state-owned lenders pushed higher after a batch of strong quarterly results.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was down 0.35% at 17,455.65, as of 0359 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) slipped 0.35% to 58,441.57.

India’s bond and forex markets were shut on Monday for a public holiday in the state of Maharashtra. read more

Among stocks, non-bank lender Bajaj Finance (BJFN.NS) slid 2% and was among the biggest drags on the indexes, while the Nifty Auto sub-index (.NIFTYAUTO) fell 1%.

Meanwhile, State Bank of India (SBI.NS), India’s largest lender, rose 1.7% after reporting stronger-than-expected profit for the third quarter, while smaller peer Bank of Baroda (BOB.NS) jumped 4.9% after quarterly profit more than doubled. read more

Steel major Tata Steel climbed 2.4% after beating estimates for quarterly profit.

Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber

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