Indian shares reversed early gains to end down 0.58 percent on Monday, led by losses in technology firms such as Infosys Technologies Ltd. on concerns a strong rupee would hurt earnings.
Shares in top private lender ICICI Bank Ltd. rose 1.1 percent to 917.85 rupees, having risen as much as 1.9 percent during trade, on hopes of successful sale of up to $4.9 billion of shares in India and the United States this week.
"We are seeing persistent selling at the higher levels in the recent sessions. The market is too volatile and the trend is likely to continue till the beginning of the corporate earnings season," said Neeraj Deewan, director at Quantum Securities.
The benchmark 30-issue BSE index fell 82.57 points to end at 14,080.14 with 23 components losing. The index is 4.4 percent below its all-time high of 14,723.88 hit on Feb. 9.
The 50-issue Nifty was down 0.58 percent at 4,147.10. It hit an all-time high of 4,362.95 on June 4.
The Indian leg of ICICI Bank's share sale opens on Tuesday, with an indicative price band of 885-950 rupees per share. Last week, property developer DLF Ltd. raised $2.25 billion in India's biggest initial public offering.
Deewan said ICICI Bank's share sale, the country's largest ever, had put pressure on the broader market as interested investors diverted cash away from other shares.
Some gains in the rupee at the start of the week hurt export-focused software services firms on concerns about their profit in the quarter ending June 30. Indian software firms earn about 60 percent of their revenue from the United States.
The rupee rose to 40.760/770 per dollar on Monday afternoon, up from 40.86/87 on Friday. The rupee, which hit a nine-year high of 40.28 in late May, has gained about 8.5 percent against the dollar this year.
Second-ranked Infosys Technologies fell 1 percent to 1,988.90 rupees and top exporter Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. ended 1.5 percent lower at 1,166.60 rupees.
In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 1,438 to 1,112 on total volume of 218 million shares.
For a technical analysis by Reuters, please see: www.reutersindia.net.
Elsewhere in the region, Karachi's 100-share index gained 0.96 percent to 13,567.40 points, while Colombo's All-Share index fell 0.33 percent to 2,594.50 points.
STOCKS THAT MOVED
* Pig-iron supplier Visa Steel Ltd. rose nearly 5 percent to 34.45 rupees after a top official said China's Baoshan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (BaoSteel) had approached the company for a possible tie-up.
* Sparsh BPO Services Ltd. slipped 1.8 percent to 204 rupees after U.S.-based Blackstone Group offered to buy an additional 20 percent in the company at 200 rupees a share. Parent Intelenet, being acquired by Blackstone for an undisclosed sum, holds 51 percent in the firm.
* Geodesic Information Systems Ltd. ended 10 percent up at 274.50 rupees after the software firm's board approved issuing one bonus share for every two shares held and raising $150 million overseas.
* Cranes Software International Ltd. rose 4.3 percent to 132.90 rupees after the software products maker said it would spend 700 million rupees to acquire U.S.-based Dunn Solutions Group and Tilak Autotech Pvt Ltd.
TOP 3 BY VOLUME
* IKF Technologies Ltd. on 18.9 million shares
* Glory Polyfilms Ltd. on 15.7 million shares
* IFCI Ltd. on 15.5 million shares