Nifty, Sensex slip after Moody's cuts outlook to 'negative'

Indian shares inched lower on Friday after Moody's Investors Service lowered its ratings outlook to "negative" from "stable", saying it was increasingly likely that economic growth will remain lower than in the past.

Moody's said the change in outlook partly reflected government and policy ineffectiveness in addressing economic weakness, which led to an increase in debt burden from already high levels.

However, losses in equities were capped as realty stocks extended their sharp gains from the previous session.

"Market reaction will depend on institutional view on the development, will FIIs cut India exposure remains to be seen," said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.

"If they agree with Moody's assessment and don't have an alternative, there may not be a rush to exit."

The broader NSE Nifty was down 0.23 per cent at 11,986.50, as of 0355 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 0.18 per cent to 40,585.72. The rupee weakened as much as 0.49 per cent to 71.31 against the dollar.

The Nifty PSU Bank index, which tracks state-run lenders, was the top loser among NSE sectoral indexes, slipping nearly 1 per cent.

Oil marketing companies Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd declined over 1.4 per cent each.

Automakers Ashok Leyland and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd fell as much as 1.24 per cent and 0.55 per cent, respectively, ahead of their quarterly results later in the day. This pushed the NSE auto index lower by more than 0.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Nifty realty index rose more than 2 per cent after Thursday's 0.9 per cent gain, with DLF Ltd adding nearly 5 per cent.

Late on Wednesday, the government approved 100 billion rupees ($1.41 billion) for a fund to help clear stalled housing projects.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd rose as much as 1.16 per cent after the drugmaker reported a strong set of quarterly numbers.