India’s benchmark stock index fell the most in more than a week after the government said it’s “worried” that below-average monsoon rainfall may hurt farm output, which accounts for one-fifth of the economy.
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, fell 128.52, or 0.9 per cent, to 15,062.49. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange lost 0.7 per cent to 4,469.10. The BSE 200 Index declined 0.7 per cent to 1,836.06. Mahindra & Mahindra, the country’s largest maker of tractors, lost 2.7 per cent after Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told parliament late Monday “the situation is serious” in the key northwest region.
Overseas funds bought a net Rs 706 crore ($145.8 million) of Indian stocks on Monday, taking their total investment in equities this year to $6.39 billion, the nation’s market regulator Sebi said on Tuesday.