MARKET STAYS BEARISH AHEAD OF US FED’S MONETARY POLICY

MUMBAI, DEC. 15

Stocks declined for the fourth consecutive session ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement scheduled on December 15, in anticipation of a quicker withdrawal of its pandemic stimulus measures to counter broadening inflationary risks.

The Sensex fell 329 points or 0.57 per cent to

57788 while the Nifty-50 fell 103.50 points or 0.60 per cent to 17221.40.

The decline extended to even the broader market in the same magnitude with BSE Mid-cap Index down by 0.59 per cent and BSE Small-cap down 0.35 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors resorted to heavy selling of equities worth Rs 3,407.04 crore ahead of the key announcement by the US central bank while the domestic institutions were net buyers by Rs

1,553.01 crore.

With major central banks scheduled to announce their monetary policy this week in the backdrop of rising inflation, global markets were mixed on Wednesday.

"Asian stock markets ended mixed on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision. Chinese stocks fell on more concerns over the country's debt-saddled property market. Central banks in Hungary and Chile hiked rates on Tuesday in response to rising inflation. UK’s inflation surged to its highest in more than a decade last month," said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research, HDFC Securities.

Sectors aligned to the fortunes of global markets fell the most, led by BSE IT (-1.03 per cent), Metal (-1.02 per cent) and Realty (-1.78 per cent) while BSE Auto (+0.50 per cent), Bankex (-0.13 per cent and Consumer Durable (-0.15 per cent) outperformed.

"It was a choppy session ahead of the global event,” said Ruchit Jain, trading strategist, 5paisa.com.