BENGALURU
Indian blue-chips fell on Tuesday to log their worst month in 2023 as elevated U.S. interest rates triggered persistent sales by foreign investors, while a rise in oil prices due to the Middle East conflict also added to the selling pressure.
The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 (.NSEI) fell 0.32% to 19,079.60, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) settled 0.37% lower at 63,874.93. They have lost nearly 3% each in October. The concerns around the Middle East conflict have led to a spike in oil prices, a negative for net importers like India.
More tellingly, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rhetoric of higher-for-longer rates has helped send U.S. Treasury yields to multi-year highs, making them more attractive for investors.
As a result, foreign investors have offloaded 228.50 billion rupees ($2.74 billion) worth of Indian shares so far in October, the most for any month since January.
