Indian shares edged lower on Thursday after a four-day rally as investors booked profits in oil refiners and amidst lack of fresh triggers.
Asian shares were a tad firmer, taking their cues from strong U.S. data.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat with Hong Kong and South Korea, as well as mainland China, closed for public holidays.
Wall Street's three major stock indexes hit fresh highs on Wednesday as did MSCI's all-country world stock index.
The S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.25 percent at 31,592 while the broader NSE Nifty dropped 0.26 percent to 9,888.
The Reserve Bank of India kept the repurchase rate—the rate at which the central bank infuses liquidity in the banking system— unchanged at 6 percent on Wednesday.
Among the top Sensex losers:ICICI Bank was down 1.5 percent, Power Grid dropped 2 percent, ITC fell 1.1 percent while Hero MotoCorp lost 1.3 percent.
Shares of Prataap Snacks, which debuted on the exchanges on Thursday, ended down 6 percent. The snack food company was listed at Rs 1,270, up 35 percent over its issue price of Rs 938 per share on the NSE.
Oil refiners fell on profit-booking. Bharat Petroleum Corp lost 1.2 percent while Hindustan Petroleum Corp declined 1.7 percent after three consecutive sessions of gains.
Gainers included Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, which rose 2 percent on reports that the company may get UK permit renewal for its Baddi unit.
Parag Milk Foods gained 3 percent after the Reserve Bank of India raised foreign investment limit in the company to 40 percent from 24 percent earlier.
Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.
