BSE Sensex set to post third straight weekly loss

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares are set to post a third straight weekly loss, weighed down on Friday by disappointing second-quarter earnings and foreign investor outflows, as funds continue to sell in anticipation of a potential U.S. interest rate hike next month.

Shares fell on Friday in line with sharp losses across Asia, after commodity prices slumped to fresh multi-year lows, on worries that slower growth may worsen a supply glut.

Foreign institutional investors have been net sellers of Indian equities for $273.87 million in November so far, data from the exchanges showed.

Analysts expect further near-term losses in India.

"Domestic earnings in second quarter were not encouraging and commentary for the third quarter (is) also not looking up. The continuing foreign outflows in anticipation of the Fed move will keep markets under pressure," said Daljeet Kohli, head of research of IndiaNivesh Securities.

 

The Nifty was trading 0.85 percent lower after falling as much as 1.2 percent earlier in the session to its lowest since Sept. 29.

The Sensex was down 0.94 percent after falling as much as 1.3 percent earlier in the day.

Indiabulls Housing Finance fell as much as 22.7 percent after the company agreed to buy a 40 percent stake in UK-based OakNorth Bank for $100 million, raising concerns over capital allocation.

IT stocks led the decline on the NSE index, as Tata Consultancy Services fell 2.8 percent, and Infosys Ltd dropped 1.1 percent, among others.

Auto stocks also fell with Maruti Suzuki leading the pack, dropping 1.8 percent and Tata Motors down 1.4 percent.

(Reporting by Neha Dasgupta in Mumbai; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Subhranshu Sahu)