Indian shares end lower

Indian shares reversed course to finish lower on Thursday, as declines in the stocks of State Bank of India Ltd and ITC Ltd added to the pressure of investors booking profits after an upbeat start to the session.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) closed 0.28% down at 18,129.95, falling for the third session in a row, while the 30-member S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.21% to 61,431.74.

The benchmarks opened higher and gained over 0.6% during the session on optimism that the United States was close to a deal to raise its debt ceiling, reported Reuters.

However, that soon faded as traders booked profits, much like the previous two sessions following a gain of nearly 4% since mid-April when the earnings season started. The Nifty 50 hit a five-month high on Monday.

Ten of the 13 sectoral indexes declined, with public sector banks (.NIFTYPSU) losing nearly 2%. State Bank of India Ltd (SBI.NS) and ITC Ltd (ITC.NS) both fell about 2%, despite beating fourth-quarter profit estimates. They were were among the top Nifty 50 losers.