Stocks retreat before Fed, BoJ meets

Stocks declined for a second day, tracking losses in Asian shares, as investors awaited policy decisions this week from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan (BOJ).

NTPC, the top power producer, tumbled the most in three weeks. Reliance Industries (RIL), owner of the world's largest refining complex, fell to a five-week low. Maruti Suzuki India, which makes half the cars sold in India, was the worst performer on the S&P BSE Sensex before its earnings Tuesday. Tata Steel declined for a third day.

Read more from our special coverage on "MARKETS"

• Sensex falls 150 points; Nifty below 7,850
• Q4 earnings to steer market this week, but volatility may be seen too
• Earnings to decide market trajectory
• Profit booking, global cues subdue markets; Nifty breaks 7,900
• Nifty slips below 7,900 on profit booking

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened higher and climbed further before profit-booking surfaced and pulled it down to 25,678.93 at the close, a loss of 159.21 points, or 0.62 per cent. The barometer had lost 42.24 points in the previous session.

While the 50-share NSE Nifty settled lower by 44.25 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 7,855.05. Intra-day, it shuttled between 7,911 and 7,827.

"It was liquidity which drove the rally and people are now wondering if the inflows will continue?" Ajay Srivastava, MD, Dimensions Consulting Pvt, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV India. "The market has run little bit ahead of itself. A phase of consolidation is due."