Indian shares fell for a fifth consecutive session on Tuesday after earlier hitting their weakest in more than three months, as oil producers such as Oil and Natural Gas Corp extended falls after crude prices tumbled to seven-year lows. The benchmark BSE index fell as much as much as 1.1 percent to its weakest since September 8. It ended the day down 0.86 percent. The broader NSE index fell as much as 1 percent to its weakest level since September 10, and ended the session down 0.82 percent.
ONGC fell 3.6 percent, having earlier hit its weakest since May 2009. Crude prices have remained under pressure as global oversupply has been compounded by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (Opec) decision last week to keep output high, though on Tuesday they edged away from seven-year lows. At the same time, emerging markets are bracing for the Fed to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade after its two-day meeting on December 15-16.
Foreign investors have sold a net $1.6 billion in shares since the start of November, though they remain buyers of $3.3 billion so far this year. "The weakness in crude is good for India. But the global weakness in commodities indicates that the global growth could slow down further," said HDFC Securities in an email to clients. Broadly, foreign-owned bluechips were also lower, with HDFC Bank down 1.1 percent and Larsen & Toubro down 0.7 percent. But software services exporters, which benefit from a weaker rupee rose, with Infosys Ltd up 1 percent.