Indian stocks in retreat

Markets Wrap: Indian stocks dropped after posting their biggest weekly advance in almost six months.

The BSE India Sensitive Index, or Sensex, slid 0.2 per cent in Mumbai. REUTERS / Danish Siddiqui

Indian stocks dropped after posting their biggest weekly advance in almost six months last week. Shares of some car makers rose after sales increased.

The BSE India Sensitive Index, or Sensex, slid 0.2 per cent to 19,306.82 in Mumbai. The gauge advanced 4.5 per cent last week. HDFC Bank, the second-largest private lender, lost 2.4 per cent after rallying 11 per cent last month to a record.

Maruti Suzuki India, the biggest car maker, climbed for the first time in three days after saying sales rose 12.5 per cent last month.

The Sensex climbed to a 19-month high on November 30 as data showing economic expansion slowed last quarter to match a three-year low stoked speculation the government would introduce more policy measures to boost growth and investment.

The same day, a finance ministry official said that India had raised the limit for foreign investors to buy sovereign debt and company bonds in a bid to attract inflows and bolster the rupee.

The 30-stock gauge's 14-day relative strength index, a measure of how rapidly prices rose or fell during the period, was at 72 on November 30.

Some investors regard readings at 70 or more as a signal to sell