India's Sensex posts biggest weekly drop since February

Indian shares fell for a fifth session on Friday as concerns over corporate growth recovery and increasing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea continued to dampen investor sentiment.

sensex
Brokers trade at their computer terminals at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai, India. (SOURCE:REUTERS) Reuters

Indian shares fell for a fifth session on Friday as concerns over corporate growth recovery and increasing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea continued to dampen investor sentiment.

Global risk appetite faltered amidst increasing geopolitical worries regarding North Korea, resulting in investors piling onto havens such as U.S. Treasuries, gold and the yen.

U.S. President Donald Trump stepped up his campaign of pressure, warning the North Korea regime not to follow through with a missile test near Guam and promising massive response to any strike against America or its allies.

Trump's second warning has shaken markets that have been largely resilient this year.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 1 percent to 31,213 while the broader NSE Nifty lost 1.1 percent to 9,710.

Sensex posted a near 4 percent weekly retreat, the biggest since February, and has erased almost all of its advance last month.

Among the top laggards on the index, State Bank of India fell 5.4 percent, Mahindra & Mahindra lost 3.1 percent while Reliance Industries declined 2.4 percent.

State Bank of India's net profit came above analysts' estimates but asset quality remained a drag.

State-run Union Bank of India and Power Finance Corp plunged after missing estimates, following the tone set earlier this week by the country's biggest auto and drug makers.

Market breadth was in the favour of losers, with about 2 stocks declining to every 1 stock that advanced.

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