Indian shares closed 1.17 percent lower on Tuesday after hitting a new intra-day low for the year, led by a plunge across Asian markets and worries over high oil prices, dealers said. The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex index fell 176.85 points at 14,889.25, its third straight trading day of losses.
The Sensex hit a new low for the year at 14,645.31, down 2.79 percent or 420.79 points, before recovering on bargain-hunting. The previous low for the year was at 14,677.24 on March 18. Indian stocks have fallen 26.6 percent this year. Overseas funds had sold 4.54 billion dollars of Indian shares by Monday since the start of 2008.
Foreign funds bought 4.1 billion dollars worth during the same period last year. Concerns that India's central bank may hike borrowing costs or take other steps to slow lending in a bid to curb inflation - running at more than eight percent - had hurt sentiment, dealers said.