MUMBAI (NewsRise) -- Indian shares suffered their biggest weekly decline in more than two months amid political wrangling in Karnataka and increased odds of an imminent interest rate hike.
The BSE Sensex and the Nifty 50 Index dropped 1.9% each. Financials were the biggest contributors to the weekly losses after India's April retail inflation accelerated more-than-expected, raising concerns that the Reserve Bank of India may increase interest rates sooner than projected. ICICI Bank has lost 8% since last Friday, while State Bank of India declined 4.7%. Axis Bank and Housing Development Finance Corp. fell by 3.3% or more.