Stocks end 2-day gain, fall 69 points

Stocks slid for the first time this week, led by automobilemakers, as emerging market equities amid speculation the US may expedite interest-rate increases. Bajaj Auto and Mahindra & Mahindra, a tractor maker, were the worst performers on the S&P BSE Sensex.

Maruti Suzuki India dropped the most in a week after Suzuki Motor Corp slumped after saying it used an improper method to test the fuel efficiency of its vehicles. Bharat Heavy Electricals tumbled for a sixth day, the longest losing run in eight months.

The Sensex lost 0.3 per cent at the close, paring an intraday loss of 1.1 per cent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index headed for a two-month low as odds of a June hike tripled to 12 per cent Tuesday amid comments by central bank officials on prospects for interest rates to be raised. The Fed will release the minutes of its April policy meeting on Wednesday.

"The volatility in the global markets is due to a lack of clarity on the interest rates by the Fed," Ashish Kukreja, chief executive officer at Mumbai-based Craft Financial Advisors Pvt, said by phone from Mumbai. "Locally, the market is trading in a range and finding it difficult to break the resistance of 8,000" on the NSE Nifty 50 index as investors await results of the five state elections and the onset of the four-month rainy season, he said.

Bloomberg