Inflation, Omicron concerns, US Fed meet pull down benchmark indices

The benchmark indices fell on Monday amidst concerns about rising Omicron cases in Europe and the possibility of more aggressive tapering measures by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed).

The benchmark Sensex began the session higher and rose 400 points but could not sustain gains on profit booking, ending the session at 58,283, a decline of 503 points or 0.8 per cent. The Nifty fell 143 points and ended the session at 17,368, a decline of 0.8 per cent.

The US consumer price inflation rose 6.8 per cent in November against a year ago, marking its highest reading since 1982. This has added to concerns about the US Fed aggressively tapering bond buying raising interest rates.

The US Fed is amongst the 20 central banks, including the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, that will hold its meeting this week.