Sensex Extends Losses to Second Day

India’s BSE Sensex fell about 0.5% to 72,294 on Thursday, extending losses from the last session as investors weighed the Reserve Bank of India’s surprise rate hike and a renewed rise in oil prices. The RBI raised its repo rate by 25 bps to 5.5% on Wednesday, its first hike in nearly four years, adopting a more hawkish stance and raising concerns over growth. Adding to pressure on Indian equities, Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel, heightening concerns over inflation and the country’s import bill, while the rupee also weakened 0.4% to 96.775 per dollar, near its record low of 96.96. Meanwhile, all sectors declined except information technology stocks, which bucked the broader decline, with the IT index rising about 1.2%, led by TCS (+2.4%) ahead of its September-quarter results, due later on Thursday and set to mark the start of the earnings season for major Indian companies. Notable laggards were One 97 Communications (-4.7%), ITC (-2.3%), and Reliance (-1.1%).