Indian shares fall for second day on profit-taking, derivative sales

MUMBAI, Sept 5 (Reuters): Indian shares fell for a second straight session on Friday as profit-taking continued in blue-chips such as ICICI Bank after a string of records earlier this week, while foreign investor sales in equity derivatives also weighed.
Overseas investors sold index futures worth 5.91 billion rupees ($97.9 million) and stock futures worth 6.77 billion rupees on Thursday, exchange data showed.
That marked a rare day of selling given that foreign investors have been largely buying cash shares this year, worth a total of over $13 billion so far, thanks in part to easy monetary policies globally.
The European Central Bank on Thursday went further, cutting interest rates and embarking on a trillion-euro asset-buying binge.
Still, when the Federal Reserve removes its stimulus is seen as the most important factor. All eyes are thus now on US August payrolls data due later in the day.