MUMBAI: Indian bonds and the rupee weakened on Friday to post their worst weekly falls since August as sentiment remained subdued after a volatile week marked by concerns about financial contagion from the tumbling Russian rouble.
Although hopes the US Federal Reserve would not be in a hurry to raise interest rates soothed sentiment, traders expect markets to remain volatile until the end of the year because of thinning foreign investor inflows.
Foreign investors sold shares worth a net $906.8 million over the last eight sessions until Thursday and debt worth $245.7 million in the three sessions to Wednesday.
"Global liquidity will be thin ahead of the year-end, so Indian markets will move mostly on domestic news," said Vikas Babu Chittiprolu, a senior foreign exchange dealer with the state-run Andhra Bank.
The partially convertible rupee closed weaker at 63.2950/3050 per dollar compared with Thursday's close of 63.11/12. On the week, the unit dropped 1.6 percent, its worst weekly fall since its 1.8 percent decline in the week to Aug. 1.
The benchmark 10-year bond yield closed 3 basis points higher at 7.96 percent. On the week, the yield rose 13 basis points, its biggest weekly rise since the week to Aug. 8 when it had risen 10 bps. Traders cited limited impact from chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian's comment that India should increase public spending to boost economic growth in the medium term.
Meanwhile, a finance ministry report said adhering to the 2014/15 fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of GDP was a major challenge and a pick-up in economic activity in the October to March period was critical for preventing a fiscal slippage.
In the overnight indexed swap market, the benchmark 5-year swap rate closed 5 basis points higher at 7.33 percent, while the 1-year rate rose 4 bps to end at 7.89 percent.
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