Pulse of the Street: oil surge and rate hike fears trigger a market sell-off

Indian stocks fell for a fifth straight week, with the Sensex down 2.3 percent and the Nifty 50 down 2.1 percent, marking their steepest weekly drop since 24 July. The sell-off was triggered by surging crude oil prices (Brent above 100 dollars per barrel, nearing 110 dollars), escalating West Asia conflict, and rising US Treasury yields (10-year at 4.95-4.97 percent) that lifted the implied probability of a Fed rate hike to around 71 percent for the 16 September meeting. Foreign portfolio investors turned net sellers, offloading about 13,138 crore rupees in September so far, with the BSE Realty index falling 6.4 percent and the BSE IT index dropping 5.3 percent as worst-performing sectors.