While the Federal Reserve is showing hesitance in following through with its plan to reduce monetary stimulus, the Reserve Bank of India displayed no such reservation on Friday as it raised its benchmark interest rate to 7.50 percent from 7.25 percent.
Stock markets in Asia fell on Friday, with Indian stocks predictably hit hardest following the rate hike, falling 1.85 percent.
But investors around the world also lost some of the enthusiasm that they had exhibited following the Fed's decision on Wednesday not to start tapering its bond purchases. In the US, the S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent on Friday. The STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.3 percent.
European stocks fell despite a report from the European Commission on Friday showing that the consumer confidence index for the euro area rose to minus 14.9 in September, the highest level since July 2011, from minus 15.6 in August.
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