India shares retreat from record highs; Lupin plunges 17%

India shares fell more than a percent on Tuesday as investors took a pause after indexes hit record highs in the previous session.

Nifty
A broker reacts while trading at his computer terminal at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai, India. REUTERS

India shares fell more than a percent on Tuesday as investors took a pause after indexes hit record highs in the previous session.

Wall Street ended Monday higher with all three equity indices closing at record highs on talks about potential merger activity, and speculations about Republicans cutting corporate taxes, that would boost earnings.

The positive sentiment spilled over to Asia with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising 0.8 percent to a 10-year high.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 1.07 percent at 33,370 while the broader NSE Nifty lost 0.97 percent to 10,350.

Among the top Sensex losers, Bharati Airtel was down 3.5 percent, Lupin lost 17 percent, Reliance Industries fell 3 percent while Cipla shed 7 percent.

Gujarat Gas lost 5 percent after the company reported 12 percent decline in its net profit for September quarter.

IT stocks traded higher: TCS up 1.6 percent, Infosys Ltd rose 3 percent, Wipro Ltd 1 percent, Tech Mahindra Ltd rose 2.3 percent, HCL Technologies 3.2 percent.

MMTC jumped 10 percent while State Trading Corp. of India advanced 3 percent after the Financial Express reported that the government plans to merge MMTC and State Trading Corp.

Torrent Power rose about 1 percent after the company swung to a profit in September quarter.

Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.

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