India’s BSE Sensex fell about 0.4% to 77,772 on Friday, erasing gains from the previous session and hitting its lowest level since July 29. The decline came as investors stayed cautious amid persistent tensions in the Middle East and elevated crude oil prices.
Sentiment was further dampened by softness in financial stocks after the Reserve Bank of India proposed loan-pricing reforms that could curb banks’ pricing flexibility and put pressure on loan yields and margins.
In stock-specific moves, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles came under heavy selling pressure, sliding around 4.7% after the automaker reported an 80% plunge in first-quarter profit, weighed down by higher costs, foreign-exchange losses, and weakness at Jaguar Land Rover.
In contrast, LG Electronics India jumped about 6.8% after posting a more than 27% increase in first-quarter profit and reaffirming its full-year revenue growth target, supported by robust summer demand for air conditioners and refrigerators.
The benchmark index is on course for a weekly loss of roughly 0.9%.
