Mumbai, Dec 9 (IANS) The Indian stock market closed in red on Monday as selling was seen in the FMCG sector, amid market sentiment being influenced by mixed global cues.  At closing, Sensex settled at 81,508.46 down by 200.66 points, or 0.25 per cent and Nifty ended at 24,619 down by 58.80 points, or 0.24 per cent. Shares of Hindustan Unilever Limited were down by 4 per cent in early trade. At the end of trading, it fell by more than 3 per cent or Rs 83.15 and closed at Rs 2,401 per share. Research analyst Vaibhav Vidwani said that market sentiment was influenced by mixed global cues and concerns over potential rate adjustments by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), following recent policy announcements.

Experts said that the domestic market exhibited a range-bound trade after last week's rally. “The rise in oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East, along with investors caution ahead of key economic data like India and US CPI data and ECB policy this week, impacted the sentiment,” they added. Capital goods and metal stocks have seen some buying interest in expectation of China stimulus after an unexpected drop in inflation. Nifty Bank ended at 53,407.75, down by 101.75 points or 0.19 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 58,998.75 at the end of trading after gaining 294.15 points or 0.50 per cent.

Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 19,528.60 after rising 36.50 points or 0.19 per cent. On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,294 shares ended in green and 1,776 in red, whereas there was no change in 170 shares. In the Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Nestle India, Asian Paints, ITC, Reliance, M&M and IndusInd Bank were the top losers. Whereas, L&T, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top gainers.

/IANS