By IANS,
Mumbai: Stocks took a beating at Indian equities markets with traders choosing to sell in fear of a interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India. The central bank is widely expected to hike rates to curb rising inflation.
The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) slipped 4.22 percent or 831.37 points during the week to close at 18,860.44 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty also moved down, losing 4.23 percent or 250.05 points to close the week at 5,654.55 points.
Broader markets too ended among losses with the BSE midcap index closing 3.31 percent lower, while the BSE smallcap index fell 3.94 percent.
Top losers on the Sensex included HDFC Bank, down 11.5 percent at Rs.2,053; Jaiprakash Associates, down 10.8 percent at Rs.93.65; Tata Steel, down 9.3 percent at Rs.621.70; and L&T, down 9.1 percent at Rs.1,709.35.
According to data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), foreign institutional investors sold stocks worth $746.69 million during the week.
Profit taking led to a drop in some of the other major Asian markets.
Japan’s Nikkei closed moderately lower at 10,499.04, down 0.4 percent from its last weekly close, while the Chinese Shanghai Composite index also shed 1.67 percent to close Friday at 2,791.34 points.
However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 2.52 percent up at 24,283.23 points.
European stocks closed mixed with investors still worried as countries in the Euro zone continued to battle debt crises.
The FTSE 100 nudged up 0.3 percent at 6,002.07 points, while the German DAX rose 1.84 percent to 7,075.7 points.
The French CAC 40 closed 3.4 percent higher at 3,983.28 points.
The American stocks rose for the seventh consecutive week with traders growing optimistic about the upcoming results season.
The Dow Jones Industrial average closed 0.96 percent up at 11,787.38 points.
The S&P 500 moved 1.71 percent higher at 1,293.24 points and the Nasdaq Composite closed 1.93 percent up at 2,755.3 points.