Indian shares edged down on Tuesday after five consecutive sessions of gains as investors took profits, but indexes were still up for a third straight month, outperforming all regional markets.
The broader NSE index ended down by 18.4 points or 0.22 per cent at 8,160.10, after gaining 5.5 per cent in the previous five sessions. The index has gained 4 per cent this month.
The benchmark BSE index ended lower by 57.64 points or 0.22 per cent at 26,667.96. It gained 4.1 per cent this month.
Some of the top performers for this month led the declines on Tuesday. Larsen & Toubro fell 0.8 per cent but was up around 18 per cent for May after posting upbeat earnings.
Among other losers, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell over 6 per cent on Tuesday after the company reported quarterly earnings below analyst estimates.
Among gainers, Tata Motors rose as much as 10.1 per cent to its highest level since June 3, 2015 after the company surprised investors with January-March earnings.
Hindalco Industries was up over 2 per cent after rising 12 per cent on Monday on robust earnings
Among BSE sectoral indices, healthcare index fell the most by 1.39 per cent, followed by IT 1.24 per cent, TECk 1.23 per cent and FMCG 1.21 per cent. On the other hand, auto index was up 2.34 per cent, metal 1.16 per cent, realty 0.88 per cent and banking 0.67 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Tata Motors (+8.95%), Tata Steel (+3.51%), State Bank of India (+3.12%), Maruti (+2.33%) and HDFC (+1.3%), while the major losers were Sun Pharma (-6.13%), GAIL (-2.31%), TCS (-2.29%), ITC (-1.4%) and Bharti Airtel (-1.33%).
Best performer
In dollar terms, the index rose 4 per cent in May, overtaking the Pakistan Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index as the best performer in the region this month, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The gains have come after companies posted resilient earnings for January-March and after weather forecasters predicted above-average monsoon after two consecutive years of drought.
But traders say consolidation could be in order for June, with a potential rate hike from the US Federal Reserve and as Great Britain gears up to vote on whether to leave or stay in the European Union.
At home, India is due to release economic growth data later in the day, while the Reserve Bank of India is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold next week.
“GDP, RBI and FOMC in the U.S. are some of the important events that are likely to keep us hooked and would keep upside capped for the time being, especially in large caps, while mid-and small-caps would play the catch-up game,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
A report by SMC Global said: "Asian stocks extended gains, trimming their worst monthly drop since the January rout amid optimism the global economy is strong enough to withstand a potentially imminent boost to US borrowing costs. The dollar retreated versus major peers, paring its best month since 2014. US market was shut on Monday on account of Memorial Day. Eurozone economic confidence rose to a four-month high in May, driven by marked improvements in sentiment among consumers and managers in the retail trade and construction sectors. The economic sentiment index improved more-than-expected to 104.7 from a revised score of 104.0 in the previous month, survey results from the European Commission showed Monday. This was the highest score since January, when it stood at 105.0. The index was forecast to rise to 104.4 from April's originally estimated reading of 103.9."