Sensex Falls Nearly 1% on Rising Bond Yields in Europe, Rupee Worries

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex and Nifty fell nearly 1 per cent in the noon deals on Thursday, dragged down by losses in blue chips on rising bond yields in Europe, while exporters were concerned about the rupee's reversal from key 64 level on flows ahead of key divestments.

Government on Wednesday approved the sale of shares in state-run oil refiner Indian Oil Corp and power producer NTPC as part of its plan to raise $11 billion from asset sales this financial year.

Pharmaceutical stocks also treaded water after drugmaker Lupin's January-March earnings disappointed investors.

The Sensex fell as much as 1.1 per cent, while the broader Nifty lost 1.2 per cent.

At 2:32 p.m., the Sensex was down 116 points at 27,134 and the Nifty fell 34 points to 8,201.

India VIX, a gauge of expected volatility in shares, surprisingly rose alongside shares on Wednesday, amid worries about key land and tax reforms, and retrospective taxation of foreign investors.

The volatility index was up 2.5 per cent at 21.20 at 2:34 p.m.