INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares slip for fourth session as Hindustan Unilever, foreign selling weigh

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By Bharath Rajeswaran and Hritam Mukherjee

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Indian shares declined for a fourth straight session on Thursday, as Hindustan Unilever missed profit estimates on a slowdown in urban demand, dragging consumer stocks, while persistent foreign outflows hit market sentiment.

The NSE Nifty 50 .NSEI fell 0.15% to 24,399.4 points, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN shed 0.02% to 80,065.16.

The Nifty 50 has lost about 2% this week and is down 7.15% since hitting a record high on Sept. 27.

Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS fell 5.8%, its worst session in nine months, after the Dove soap maker posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt by higher costs and a slowdown in urban markets. Analysts expect further pain for the consumer major.

The fast moving consumer goods index .NIFTYFMCG fell 2.8% and was the top sectoral loser by percentage.

"October has not been good for Indian equities. First the China stimulus led to the 'buy China, sell India' trade, which led to broad-based selling," said Jaykrishna Gandhi, head of business development of institutional equities at Emkay Global Financial Services.

"Rich valuations and lacklustre earnings have also contributed to the correction."

Foreign institutional investors have net sold Indian shares for eighteen sessions through Wednesday, redirecting funds to China on Beijing's stimulus measures and because of relatively cheaper stocks.

Other Asian markets also fell on the day, tracking a drop in Wall Street overnight as investors hesitated to place major bets ahead of the U.S. presidential election. MKTS/GLOB

In India, five of the 13 major sectors fell. The broader, more domestically focused small- .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 shed 0.2% and 0.33%, respectively.

Aluminium producer Hindalco Industries HALC.NS dropped 3.7% and was the top loser in the metal index .NIFTYMET after France's Constellium 3OK.F, CSTM.N issued a downbeat forecast.

Constellium is seen as the nearest proxy of Hindalco's U.S. unit, Novelis NVL.N.

Paytm PAYT.NS rose 2.6% after Citi upgraded the fintech firm's stock, citing easing regulatory risks.

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

((bharath.rajeswaran@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9769003463;))