Indian shares end down as pharma stocks fall, Fed meeting in focus

BENGALURU: Indian shares closed down on Wednesday as pharma stocks slipped for the second straight session, while investors waited for the outcome of a US Federal Reserve meeting.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended down 0.24% at 15,709.40 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was 0.22% lower at 52,462.42.

"The markets slipped below the crucial 15,600 level but was swift to recover, an indication that the market is still range-bound," Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst at Deen Dayal Investments, said in a note.

Indian shares end lower as pharma stocks drag

Shares of India's Bharti Airtel gained as much as 5.9% after the telecom services provider said it was scrapping its entry-level prepaid recharge of 49 rupees ($0.6587).

Private sector lender IndusInd Bank rose as much as 3.5% after it reported on Tuesday June-quarter net profit more than doubled to 9.75 bln rupees and provisions slid 18%.

The bank index, however, ended 0.76% lower, dragged by shares of Canara Bank, Karnataka Bank and Central Bank of India following their quarterly results this week.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki ended down about 1.04%. The country's top carmaker reported a profit for the first quarter just minutes before the markets closed.

Phillips Carbon and Welspun India were the other top gainers.

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Shares of Tata Coffee tumbled as much as 8.1% - their biggest percentage loss since Dec. 21 - after the coffee and tea producer posted a 20.3% fall in quarterly profit.

Pharma stocks were 0.42% lower, weighed down by a 2.3% fall in Dr Reddy's Lab. The stock fell as much as 11.7% on Tuesday.

Global equities regained some poise on Wednesday as a storm in Chinese stocks showed signs of easing, while the dollar made modest gains as investors awaited a Federal Reserve meeting and any fresh insight into its views on inflation and economic growth.