BENGALURU, July 15 Reuters Indian shares posted their first weekly loss in four on fears of aggressive rate hikes by central banks globally, even as gains in auto and consumer goods companies helped stocks close higher on Friday.
The NSE Nifty 50 index ended up 0.69 at 16,049.20, while the SP BSE Sensex rose 0.65 to 53,760.78, closing higher for the first time in five sessions. The benchmarks were down more than 1 for the week.
The auto index gained 2 on expectations for strong sales, while the fastmoving consumer goods index rose 1.5, buoyed by weaker key raw material prices including wheat and palm oil.
The price correction in several commodities is expected to bring back some of the lost margins for consumer companies. Also, monsoon rainfall is expected to be normal, said Saurabh Jain, assistant vicepresident, research, at SMC Global Securities.
Prices for corn and wheat have retreated from near record highs hit in the aftermath of Russia39;s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, while palm oil prices have hit multimonth lows on weaker demand.
The rupee hit a record low on Friday, continuing its downward spiral, as a weak outlook for global growth prompted investors to dump riskier assets, although easing crude prices limited its fall.
Foreign investors sold a net 464.25 million worth of Indian equities this week as of Thursday, 24.4 more compared with last week.
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