A man walks out of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, January 3 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

BENGALURU, June 6 (Reuters) - Indian shares ticked lower on Monday as a slump in cement makers offset gains in metal stocks at the start of a week where the central bank is expected to deliver another interest rate hike.

The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) closed 0.09% lower at 16,569.55 and the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) slipped 0.17% to 55,675.32, both falling for a second straight session.

The market has seen volatile moves in the past week as worries build over stubbornly high inflation, with the Reserve Bank of India expected to follow up its unscheduled rate hike in May with another move at the policy meeting on Wednesday. read more

"There is nervousness in the market ahead of rate decision amid pain of high inflation," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president at SMC Securities.

"We are also seeing supersonic volatility and it is difficult for market participants to make up their mind with so many variables moving in both directions."

At the close on Monday, cement makers were among the top drags. Shree Cement (SHCM.NS) fell 3.4% to its lowest level in more than one and a half years, while sector leader UltraTech Cement(ULTC.NS) dropped 1.8% to a 16-month low.

Shares of cement companies come under pressure as competition in the sector heats up. Last week, UltraTech Cement announced it would spend $1.66 billion to boost capacity to stave off competition from the sector's newest entrant Adani Group. read more

Beaten-down technology stocks (.NIFTYIT) settled 0.2% lower after falling more than 2% earlier in the session.

Spicejet (SPJT.NS) fell 2.7% to a 20-month low after it said the country's aviation regulator had imposed a penalty on the budget carrier.

Limiting the losses, metal stocks on the Nifty index (.NIFTYMET) rallied 1.12%. The gains were supported by a jump in iron ore futures to a 10-month high on hopes of improving demand.

Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Aditya Soni

Source: Reuters

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