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declined the most, with market heavyweight, the conglomerate Reliance, losing more than 3.0 per cent following its quarterly results reported late on Friday.

Foreign investors have withdrawn a net 1.34 trillion rupees ($17.3 billion) from Indian equities so far this year, stock exchange data showed.

The war in Ukraine and resurgence of Covid-19 restrictions in China have exacerbated outflows from emerging markets like India as foreign funds turn risk-averse.

Inflation worries on the back of rising commodity prices have also soured sentiment in Asia’s third-largest economy, which imports more than 80 per cent of its oil needs.

Consumer price inflation in India hit a 17-month high of 6.95 per cent year-on-year in March, and economists expect data to be released later this week to show that number rising beyond seven per cent in April.

The US Federal Reserve last week hiked the key lending rates by half a percentage point, but also held off on signalling more aggressive measures.

“After an unscheduled rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India, if India’s inflation moves higher than 7.0 per cent... the pressure will be on for the RBI to act again,” forex firm OANDA’s Jeffrey Halley said in a note.

“That may give some strength to the rupee but is unlikely to be bullish for local equities.”