<div>The BSE Sensex and Nifty hit 10-week lows on Thursday, heading for their seventh straight session of falls as blue-chips such as Housing Development Finance(HDFC.NS) slumped on concerns about foreign investors after Saudi Arabia launched air strikes in Yemen.<br /><br />The tensions in the Middle East come at a time of rising concerns foreign investors will pare some of their positions in India. Overseas funds sold index futures worth 13.86 billion rupees ($221.2 million) on Wednesday ahead of monthly derivative expiry and end of the fiscal year.<br /><br />Asian shares also fell after Saudi Arabia and Gulf region allies launched military operations including air strikes in Yemen on Thursday to counter Iran-allied forces besieging the southern city of Aden where the U.S.-backed Yemeni president had taken refuge."We think the market will drag for some time. There is a huge currency risk. And there are no near-term triggers," said Deven Choksey, managing director, KR Choksey Securities.<br /><br />The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 1.2 percent to 27,789.70, while the broader Nifty is down 0.94 percent at 8,451.Both the indexes are heading towards their lowest close since Jan. 14.<br /><br />Companies with heavy foreign institutional holdings led the declines. Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd fell 5 percent.ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) fell 1.4 percent, while HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS) was down 2.1 percent.<br /><br />However, telecommunications stocks rose, with Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) gaining 1.2 percent and Idea Cellular (IDEA.NS) adding 1.8 percent on hopes of winning key 900 Mhz spectrum.<br /><br />India raised a record $17.6 billion from the sale of mobile phone airwaves in its latest telecom spectrum auction after 19 days of fierce bidding, the telecoms minister said on Wednesday. ($1 = 62.6700 rupees)<br /><br /></div>
<div>The BSE Sensex and Nifty hit 10-week lows on Thursday, heading for their seventh straight session of falls as blue-chips such as Housing Development Finance(HDFC.NS) slumped on concerns about foreign investors after Saudi Arabia launched air strikes in Yemen.<br /><br />The tensions in the Middle East come at a time of rising concerns foreign investors will pare some of their positions in India. Overseas funds sold index futures worth 13.86 billion rupees ($221.2 million) on Wednesday ahead of monthly derivative expiry and end of the fiscal year.<br /><br />Asian shares also fell after Saudi Arabia and Gulf region allies launched military operations including air strikes in Yemen on Thursday to counter Iran-allied forces besieging the southern city of Aden where the U.S.-backed Yemeni president had taken refuge."We think the market will drag for some time. There is a huge currency risk. And there are no near-term triggers," said Deven Choksey, managing director, KR Choksey Securities.<br /><br />The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 1.2 percent to 27,789.70, while the broader Nifty is down 0.94 percent at 8,451.Both the indexes are heading towards their lowest close since Jan. 14.<br /><br />Companies with heavy foreign institutional holdings led the declines. Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd fell 5 percent.ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) fell 1.4 percent, while HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS) was down 2.1 percent.<br /><br />However, telecommunications stocks rose, with Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) gaining 1.2 percent and Idea Cellular (IDEA.NS) adding 1.8 percent on hopes of winning key 900 Mhz spectrum.<br /><br />India raised a record $17.6 billion from the sale of mobile phone airwaves in its latest telecom spectrum auction after 19 days of fierce bidding, the telecoms minister said on Wednesday. ($1 = 62.6700 rupees)<br /><br /></div>