Sensex falls on rupee strength, rising European bond yields

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex edged lower on Thursday, dragged down by losses in blue chips on rising bond yields in Europe, while export-oriented stocks dropped as the rupee rose above the key 64 level on inflows ahead of disinvestments in key companies.

German and U.S. bond yields surged to their highest in more than five months, making equities look more expensive in comparison to debt and keeping Asian stock markets subdued.

The rupee rose to as high as 63.81 per dollar versus its Wednesday's closing level of 64.00/01 ahead of inflows related to stake sales in power producer NTPC and oil refiner Indian Oil Corp .

 

The Sensex closed 0.17 percent lower after earlier falling as much as 1.1 percent, while the Nifty fell 0.14 percent after earlier losing up to 1.2 percent.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by)