Sensex falls most in three weeks

MUMBAI, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex fell more than 1 per cent on Thursday to mark a third consecutive day of declines since hitting a record high at the start of the week as Tata Motors slumped after saying its unit Jaguar Land Rover would increase capital spending.

Rate-sensitive stocks such as ICICI Bank also fell on caution ahead of retail inflation data later in the day, which will be followed by wholesale inflation on Monday and is seen as key for the central bank's policy review on December 18.

Tackling inflation will be a priority, finance minister and RBI governor said on Wednesday, after high prices contributed to painful losses for the ruling Congress party in state elections.

Despite the fall, the sentiment remains that of 'buy on dips' on hopes the domestic economy is looking at a trough and on continued foreign investor flows which crossed the 1-trillion-rupee mark earlier this week.

"At domestic level, CAD is improving, rupee is stabilising and GDP growth seems to have bottomed out. So while we are not saying that we are out of the woods but believe that worst may be behind us," said Dipak Acharya, Fund Manager of equities at Baroda Pioneer AMC.

Acharya remains positive on Indian equities for 2014, but adds that in the short term, there would be caution ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting and the central bank's monetary policy review.
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