Sensex fell 166 points to 58,117

MUMBAI: After retail, the wholesale price index (WPI), which was released today, rose to 18.50 per cent, hitting a 17-year high. The meeting of the US Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee begins today. The benchmark indices of the Indian stock market closed lower for the third day in a row today as investors adopted a wait-and-see policy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman plans to start pre-budget discussions from tomorrow to formulate the budget for the next financial year. The BSE Sensex finally closed at 3111.05, down 18.5 points from yesterday's low of 208.5 and above 4.5. Compared to yesterday, it was down 4.5 points and closed at 12.30. Electricity and pharma stocks were the main gainers, while auto and banking stocks were the weakest. There was mixed flow in FMCG. Market breadth remained positive on BSE. 1,901 stocks rose while 1,610 declined. 118 shares remained unchanged.

Nifty Pharma Index rises 12 points: Lupine, Aurobindo, Torrent Pharma

Lupine's share price rose as much as 2.50 per cent after the US FDA received an Establishment Inspection Report for the Goa plant. The stock had gained Rs 4.05 to close at Rs 4.05 on the NSE. At Aurobindo Pharma, investors' gains rose by Rs 15.5 to close at Rs 206.5. Divis Labs rose by Rs 19.00 to close at Rs 4.50. Torrent Pharma rose by Rs 4.5 to close at Rs 4,140.5. Cadillac Health was up Rs 4.5 at Rs 2.50 and Cipla was up Rs 2.50 at Rs 4.50. Sun Pharma fell by Rs 4.5 to close at Rs 2.09. Reports of an increase in cases of Corona variant Omicron have attracted pharma stocks.

Mixed Flow in FMCG Stocks: Fast Track in Colgate, Nestle, HUL

In the FMCG sector, Colgate, which had a low headwind investment, rose by Rs 2.50 to close at Rs 13.5. Nestl વધી rose by Rs 2.50 to Rs 19.50 and Varun Beverage by Rs 4.5 to close at Rs 303.5. HUL rose by Rs 13.5 to close at Rs 313.50. Jubilant Food rose by Rs 13.5 to close at Rs 2.50. Before the analysts' meeting, ITC's price had declined by Rs 2.00 to close at Rs 3.50. Investors are keeping an eye on the outcome of the meeting with analysts. Tata Consumer Prod. The rupee fell by Rs 19.50 to close at Rs 8.50.

Profit booking in bank stocks with the possibility of the Reserve Bank raising interest rates at any time

With inflation soaring, the Reserve Bank is expected to raise interest rates at any time. In such a scenario, there may be short-term pressure on the balance sheets of banks. Profit booking was seen in selected bank stocks. IDFC First Bank lost Rs.00.50 to close at Rs.50.50. Bandhan Bank lost Rs 1.50 to close at Rs 20.8 and Federal Bank lost Rs 00.5 to close at Rs 61.00. RBL fell by Rs 4.5 to close at Rs 12.50. SBI was up by Rs 0.8 to close at Rs 4.5 and Axis Bank was up by Rs 2.50 to close at Rs 210.50. IndusInd Bank closed lower at Rs 5.05 on the back of a higher price of Rs 3.50 on investor buying.

Current in power sector stocks: Power Grid, Adani Green, NTPC rise: Tata Power declines

As the Power Grid Corporation is focusing on renewable energy development, it saw a surge in share prices in anticipation of its benefits. Shares of the company rose by Rs 7.5 to close at Rs 313.5. Adani Green Energy was up by Rs 30.50 to close at Rs 19.5. The next budget is expected to boost the country's renewable energy sector. NTPC rose by Rs 00.5 to close at Rs 17.5.

Reliance, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel down while Larsen, Tata Steel up

The Sensex heavyweight Reliance saw a sharp fall in profit-booking. The Reserve Bank has announced PCA norms for large NBFCs. HDFC's share price fell by Rs 13.5 to close at Rs 6.00. Larsen rose by Rs 2.10 to Rs 19.10 while Tata Steel rose by Rs 1.50 to close at Rs 114.5.

Foreign investors' cash in Indian equities continued to sell out this month

Indian equities continued to be sold in December by foreign institutional investors. FIIs had sold goods worth Rs 2.15 crore on Tuesday. A total of Rs 121 crore has been sold so far in December. Against this, domestic institutional investors have bought goods worth Rs 15 crore.